How does Sri Lanka rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit?

Sri Lanka ranks 156th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.

Is foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in Sri Lanka?

Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in Sri Lanka

Name: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in Sri Lanka
Creator: Statizoid (derived)
License: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page

Sri Lanka: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) … unit was 0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)

0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

Change on year

down 9.9%

World rank

156th

of 200 countries

All-time high

0.0285 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 1997

All-time low

-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 1977

Years of data

1970–2024

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sri Lanka, 1970–2024

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP for foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.9% on the previous year and down 29.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.0285 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1997 and was at its lowest, -0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1977.

Sri Lanka ranks 156th of 200 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP in Sri Lanka, 1970 to 2024.
Year	BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	Change
1970	-0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	—
1971	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-196.9%
1972	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.2%
1973	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+48.0%
1974	0.0004 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+125.2%
1975	0 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-90.4%
1976	0 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-99.3%
1977	-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-106721.3%
1978	0.0005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-281.7%
1979	0.0139 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2484.7%
1980	0.0107 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-23.4%
1981	0.0112 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.4%
1982	0.0133 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+19.5%
1983	0.0073 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-45.2%
1984	0.0054 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-26.2%
1985	0.0044 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-18.9%
1986	0.0046 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+6.0%
1987	0.0089 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+91.9%
1988	0.0066 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-26.4%
1989	0.0028 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-56.9%
1990	0.0054 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+91.0%
1991	0.0054 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.5%
1992	0.0126 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+135.3%
1993	0.0188 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+48.8%
1994	0.0142 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-24.5%
1995	0.0043 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-69.7%
1996	0.0086 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+100.7%
1997	0.0285 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+230.4%
1998	0.0123 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-56.9%
1999	0.0112 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.5%
2000	0.0104 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.2%
2001	0.0109 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.7%
2002	0.0119 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+8.9%
2003	0.0121 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.9%
2004	0.0113 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.0%
2005	0.0112 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.9%
2006	0.017 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+52.0%
2007	0.0186 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.8%
2008	0.0185 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.9%
2009	0.0096 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-48.0%
2010	0.0081 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-15.2%
2011	0.0141 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+73.2%
2012	0.0134 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-5.3%
2013	0.0121 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-9.3%
2014	0.0108 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-10.6%
2015	0.008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-26.2%
2016	0.0102 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+27.6%
2017	0.0145 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+42.7%
2018	0.0171 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+17.5%
2019	0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-51.1%
2020	0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-38.4%
2021	0.0067 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+29.9%
2022	0.0119 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+78.3%
2023	0.0085 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-28.9%
2024	0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-9.9%

Sri Lanka compared with similar countries

Sri Lanka's 0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.024 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 32% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
Sri Lanka's 0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP is above the median for South Asia, which is 0.0058 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

Year	Change	From	To
1977	-106721.3%	0 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP
1979	+2484.7%	0.0005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0139 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP
1978	+281.7%	-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	0.0015 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0139 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1980s	0.0075 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0028 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0133 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.0121 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0043 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0285 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2000s	0.0131 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0096 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0186 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2010s	0.0117 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0171 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2020s	0.008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0119 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

153 South Korea 0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
154 Ireland 0.0079 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
155 Togo 0.0079 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
157 Latvia 0.005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
158 Azerbaijan 0.0049 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
159 Tajikistan 0.0049 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 247 places →

More economy & growth data for Sri Lanka

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)
IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0295 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sri Lanka?: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sri Lanka was 0.0076 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2024, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in Sri Lanka?: The highest recorded value was 0.0285 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1997.
What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in Sri Lanka?: The lowest recorded value was -0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1977.
How does Sri Lanka rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit?: Sri Lanka ranks 156th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.
Is foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in Sri Lanka?: Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?: The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 26 October 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/foreign-direct-investment-net-inflows-bop-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/sri-lanka/

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How this figure is calculated

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)

Computed from

Foreign direct investment, net inflows Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D
GDP Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks

Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.

About this data

Indicator: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP
Unit: BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP
Source: Statizoid (derived)
Licence: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage: 247 places, 11,888 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed: 11 September 2026

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.