Economy
The economy in context
A budget is easier to judge next to the size and health of the economy. This page sets each year's budget beside figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and shows what the budget works out to per person.
Budget per person 2026
Rs 410,702
Total spending in each Appropriation Act divided by the IMF population estimate for that year. Use the Amounts selector to see it in constant prices.
Budget per person
Total spending in each Appropriation Act divided by the IMF population estimate for that year. Use the Amounts selector to see it in constant prices.
| Year | Total spending | Population (million) | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Rs 3.33 trillion | 21.44 | Rs 155,484 |
| 2018 | Rs 3.98 trillion | 21.67 | Rs 183,773 |
| 2019 | Rs 4.54 trillion | 21.80 | Rs 208,412 |
| 2020 | Rs 4.72 trillion | 21.92 | Rs 215,254 |
| 2021 | Rs 4.91 trillion | 22.16 | Rs 221,438 |
| 2022 | Rs 5.13 trillion | 22.18 | Rs 231,210 |
| 2023 | Rs 7.88 trillion | 22.04 | Rs 357,558 |
| 2024 | Rs 7.83 trillion | 21.92 | Rs 357,129 |
| 2025 | Rs 8.84 trillion | 21.76 | Rs 406,095 |
| 2026 | Rs 8.98 trillion | 21.86 * | Rs 410,702 |
Economic indicators (IMF)
These are IMF estimates for the whole general government, not the figures in the Appropriation Acts. They are shown for context and can differ from official national statistics.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 * | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth | 6.5% | 2.3% | -0.2% | -4.6% | 4.2% | -7.3% | -2.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 4.0% |
| Inflation (average) | 6.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.6% | 6.0% | 45.2% | 17.4% | 1.2% | -0.5% | 5.3% |
| Government revenue, % of GDP | 12.8% | 12.6% | 11.9% | 8.8% | 8.3% | 8.4% | 11.2% | 13.6% | 16.7% | 15.9% |
| Overall balance, % of GDP | -5.1% | -5.0% | -7.5% | -13.4% | -11.7% | -10.2% | -8.3% | -5.4% | -2.3% | -4.2% |
| Primary balance, % of GDP | 0.0% | 0.6% | -1.9% | -7.1% | -5.7% | -3.7% | 0.6% | 2.2% | 5.4% | 2.3% |
| Gross debt, % of GDP | 72.3% | 83.6% | 82.6% | 96.9% | 102.7% | 115.9% | 109.9% | 100.2% | 96.8% | 95.2% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% | 4.4% | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5.1% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 3.9% |
| Current account, % of GDP | -2.4% | -3.0% | -2.1% | -1.4% | -3.7% | -1.9% | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.6% | -0.5% |
* IMF projection
What these terms mean
- Overall balance is revenue minus all spending including interest. A negative figure is a deficit that has to be borrowed.
- Primary balance leaves out interest payments, so it shows whether day-to-day policy is spending more than it collects.
- Gross debt is the total government debt measured against the size of the economy (GDP).
Please note
- IMF inflation uses the Colombo index and its year averages can differ from the national NCPI used elsewhere on this site for inflation adjustment.
- Years marked as projections are IMF forecasts, not outcomes.
- The IMF measures the general government (central government, provincial councils and others on the IMF's definitions). An Appropriation Act covers only the amounts Parliament appropriates, so budget totals here and IMF ratios are not directly comparable.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, via the free DataMapper service. Data retrieved on 2026-10-18. imf.org/datamapper