External sector: Remittances posts historic high performance in 2025

Sri Lanka saw its highest foreign remittances inflow in 2025 since 2016, according to Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, speaking at a press conference yesterday (5)

The Minister further detailed the performance of foreign remittances:”Last year marked the highest foreign remittance collection for Sri Lanka. By November, the income stood at $ 7.19 billion. With an average monthly inflow of $ 650 million to $ 700 million, and although the Central Bank has yet to release the official final report for December, we estimate a total of around $ 7.8 billion.  This surpasses the previous peak of $ 7.4 billion recorded in 2016.” 

The Minister revealed that the country earned about $ 7.8 billion in foreign remittances over the past year. Minister Herath pointed out that combined earnings from foreign employment and tourism alone contributed around $ 11 billion to the national economy through his ministry. “By combining $ 7.8 billion from remittances and $ 3.2 billion from the tourism industry, our ministry has generated nearly $ 11 billion from these two sectors alone,” he added.

Source: TheMorning