Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) was 0.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sri Lanka is 0.8%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 9.7% on the previous year and down 29.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.9% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2020.
Sri Lanka ranks 160th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.0% | — |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | +8.9% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | -7.0% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | +52.0% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | +9.8% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -48.0% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -15.2% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +73.2% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 1.2% | -9.3% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | -10.6% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -26.2% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +27.6% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +42.7% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +17.5% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | -51.1% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -38.4% |
| 2021 | 0.7% | +29.9% |
| 2022 | 1.2% | +78.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | -28.6% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | -9.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.5%, 31% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.8% is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.5%, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More economy & growth data for Sri Lanka
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate 314.98 % change on previous year (2024)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP -8.07 Percent per annum (2022)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP -7.82 Percent per annum (2022)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate -66.71 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 0.0483 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -68.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 0.0353 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 33.41 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sri Lanka?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sri Lanka was 0.8% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2007.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2020.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp?
- Sri Lanka ranks 160th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).