One of the more swiftly developing countries of the Third World, the Sri Lankan economy was mainly based on agricultural products like tea, rubber and spices. However, in the past few decades, two other industries have gathered strength: textiles and garments and tourism. Both these industries, coupled with tea, of which Sri Lanka is one of the world’s most formidable producers bring in export earnings that contribute majorily to the nation’s income. Increasing privatisation and growing foreign investment have also helped boost the economy, although life for rural dwellers continues to be more or less at the subsistence level.
The economy has suffered some due to the civil war. Sri Lanka has managed to restrict its affect and the economy has done reasonably well in the last five years with the real growth between 3% to 6%. At the same time the Government has also managed to curb the inflation as well as unemployment rates.
Some facts:
GDP: US$73.7 billion
GDP per head: US$3700
Annual Growth rate (GDP): 3.2% (2002 est.)
Inflation: 18%
Major Industries: Textiles, Garments, tea, gems, rubber & tourism
Major trading Partners: US, UK, Japan, South Korea, China & India
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