Sri Lanka Remittances Rise 27% to USD 673Mn in November

Sri Lanka’s official worker remittances increased by 27 percent year-on-year to USD 673.4 million in November 2025, according to data released by the Central Bank.

Cumulative inflows during the first eleven months of the year reached USD 7.2 billion, marking a 20.7 percent rise compared to the same period in 2024. This figure has already surpassed the previous record of USD 7.16 billion recorded in 2017, with further inflows expected during the festive month of December.

Worker remittances rebounded strongly in recent years, reaching a six-year high in 2024, as a record number of Sri Lankans sought overseas employment amid the country’s recovery from the 2022 economic crisis. For the full year 2024, remittances rose by 10.1 percent to USD 6.57 billion, up from nearly USD 6 billion in 2023.

Remittances remain Sri Lanka’s largest source of foreign exchange, playing a critical role in stabilizing the economy as it continues to recover from the severe financial crisis.

In its 2026 Budget, the government announced plans to introduce housing loan schemes and a contributory pension programme for Sri Lankans employed abroad, aimed at further encouraging remittance inflows.

The sustained growth in remittances follows the Central Bank’s decision to abandon the parallel exchange rate regime, prompting expatriate workers to shift away from informal transfer systems such as Undiyal and Hawala and return to official banking channels.

Since declaring bankruptcy in 2022, Sri Lanka has also stepped up efforts to deploy more migrant workers overseas, with a greater emphasis on professionals in order to secure higher foreign exchange earnings.

Official remittance inflows had declined sharply in 2021 after many expatriates turned to informal channels that offered better exchange rates than the formal banking system. This trend was driven by excess money printing to maintain low interest rates, which led to the emergence of parallel exchange rates outside the formal system.

Following sharp interest rate hikes from April 2022 to curb inflation and stabilize the economy, pressures eased, allowing remittances to gradually return to official channels.