Sri Lanka Economic Forecast

While Sri Lanka once followed a statist economy and import substitution trade policy the country today follows policies market-oriented policies. In addition, Sri Lanka has a stronger trade market, while encouraging more Foreign Direct Investment. While this country was experiencing growth since the changes took place in 1977, when government changes occurred in the past few years the economy suffered to some degree. The government’s goal now is to lower poverty by pushing investments out to areas that are at disadvantage while developing small to medium-sized enterprises.

While Sri Lanka once followed a statist economy and import substitution trade policy the country today follows policies market-oriented policies. In addition, Sri Lanka has a stronger trade market, while encouraging more Foreign Direct Investment. While this country was experiencing growth since the changes took place in 1977, when government changes occurred in the past few years the economy suffered to some degree. The government’s goal now is to lower poverty by pushing investments out to areas that are at disadvantage while developing small to medium-sized enterprises.

Some of the other economic changes that Sri Lanka is currently pursuing include promoting agriculture, fisheries, and farming, as well as further developing the civil service sector already in place. Another change seen recently is that privatization has been stopped and although the country has gone through a horrific civil war that first started in 1983, a 4.5% growth over the past decade has been seen for GDP. Positive changes are seeing more robust food, apparel, textile, beverage, and processing, along with improved financial services, port construction/building, insurance, banks/financial institutions, and telecommunications. The major challenge is that Sri Lanka has an ongoing dispute with LTTE, making significant economic growth impossible for the time being.

Sri Lanka GDP Forecast

The Sri Lanka GDP (Gross Domestic Product, Current Prices, US Dollars) has seen growth over the past 10 years but because of the civil war, coupled with several natural disasters that have hit this part of the world the economy has not been able to reach its full potential. In 2008, the GDP was reported at $39.60 billion in US currency, followed by a slight change that closed 2009 at $41.323 billion and putting the country at number 76 for worldwide rankings. Forecasts for 2010 put the GDP at $36.87 billion and for 2015, a moderate change to $53.203 billion in US dollars.

Sri Lanka Unemployment Forecast

Reports for the Sri Lanka population show that approximately 20.3 million people live in this country. Because the literacy rate for Sri Lanka is more than 80%, the labor force is reported at over 8 million. For the Sri Lanka unemployment rate, 2008 was at 5.5 and for 2009 a very small increase was experienced pushing the number to 5.9%. Although the numbers could be improved, they are better than many other countries face. With this, it is estimated that 23% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.

Sri Lanka Inflation Rate Forecast

To determine the future for the Sri Lanka inflation rate, experts need to look at what prior years have done. From there, data is used to create averages for the given year rather than using end-of-period data. IN 2008, the inflation rate for this country was 22.56%, followed by an 84.93% reduction for the following 12 months. This meant that by the close of 2009, the inflation rate was 3.4%, placing the country at number 88. Interestingly, the change from 2009 to 2010 is expected to be high at 176.47%, which would close the year with an inflation rate of 9.40%. However, by year-end 2015, the rate will come down somewhat to around 7.00%.

Sri Lanka Current Account Balance Forecast

Forecasters also determine the future for the Sri Lanka current account balance by looking at historical data and focusing on classifications that include income, current transfers, goods, and services. For the 2008 numbers, the balance was at minus $3.72 billion in US dollars. From the close of 2008 to 2009, a reduction of 103.33% occurred, putting the new numbers at $0.124 billion and positioning Sri Lanka at number 51 worldwide. Predictions for 2010 take the current account balance back to a negative number of $0.70 billion due to a decline of 663.52%. Another change is predicted for 2015, closing that year at minus $0.479 billion in US dollars.