Sri Lanka in South Asia: 2nd in GDP, 5th in government revenue share

இதை பகிர்

This shortfall matters. Sri Lanka needs greater investment in health, education and infrastructure. Countries that devote a larger slice of GDP to such expenditure can do so because they first raise a larger share of their GDP in revenue.

While Sri Lanka has made notable progress in increasing its revenue ratio over the past two years (see Sri Lanka’s Revenue: What Changed Between 2021 and 2024? ), this comparison highlights that there is still a long way to go. IMF projections estimate that government revenue will rise to 15.1 per cent% in 2025 and remain at that level in the future. However, even this figure is still lower than that of regional peers.

While Sri Lanka has made notable progress in increasing its revenue ratio over the past two years (see Sri Lanka’s Revenue: What Changed Between 2021 and 2024?), this comparison highlights that there is still a long way to go. IMF projections estimate that government revenue will rise to 15.1 per cent% in 2025 and remain at that level in the future. However, even this figure is still lower than that of regional peers.

Sources

IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 at https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april

World Bank Group, Data at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

IMF Working Paper: "Tax Capacity and Growth: Is There a Tipping Point? at https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp16234.pdf

Besley, T. J., & Persson, T. (2013, January). Taxation and development. https://ssrn.com/

abstract=2210278. (CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP9307)

Kleven, H. J., Kreiner, C. T., & Saez, E. (2016). Why can modern governments tax so much? an agency model of firms as fiscal intermediaries. Economica, 83 (330), 219–246. doi: 10.1111/ecca.12182

Revenue to GDP for 2024 for specific countries

Sri Lanka	Ministry of Finance Annual Report 2024
India	IMF - India: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for India, Table 5
Maldives	Maldives Monetary Authority, Annual Report 2024

GDP per capita for 2024

Bangladesh	Ministry of Finance Report 2024
Bhutan	National Statistics Burea
India	Focus Economics
Sri Lanka	Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Annual Report 2024
Maldives	Maldives Monetary Authority database
Nepal	World Economics database
Pakistan	Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS)