Sri Lanka begins 2025 with 17.5% increase in workers’ remittances
Last Updated on February 10, 2025 6:19 am
Remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad have continued to be strong providing much needed heft for the country’s strengthening external sector and thereby the broader economy.
According to the data available through January 2025, Sri Lankans working abroad had sent back US$ 573.0 million via official channels, up sharply from the US$ 487.6 million recorded in the same month last year. This translated into a 17.5 percent growth between the two periods.
This compares with the US$ 613.8 million the country received a month ago in December 2024, capping the full year receipts from remittances at US$ 6,575.4 million, up 10.1 percent from a year ago and also the highest since 2020.
December usually brings the second highest or the highest monthly remittance income for the country in a typical year as March, ahead of the traditional new year and also December are considered as peak months for such inflows.
The higher monthly remittance income on a year-over-year basis could also reflect the large number of Sri Lankans leaving Sri Lanka in search of better pastures.
During the last three years through 2024, at least a million Sri Lankans left for other countries in search of livelihoods as the pandemic and the resulting economic hardships deprived millions of their livelihoods, forcing them out of the country to look for better jobs.
And some, including many from the professional and educated class left the country for good as they were fed up with the awful living conditions back then.
Sri Lanka could be eyeing at least US$ 7.0 billion from remittances in 2025 with another US$ 5.0 billion from tourism. Remittances have long been Sri Lanka’s single largest foreign exchange income source followed by textiles and garments and tourism.
The recovery in both remittances and tourism, the latter of which was nearly decimated during the pandemic helped Sri Lanka’s economy to find its lost footing.