Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad was 396.11 million current US$ in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka, 1995–2023
Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 396.11 million current US$ for spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.5% on the previous year and down 78.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.49 billion current US$ in 2018 and was at its lowest, 267.00 million current US$, in 1996.
Sri Lanka ranks 123rd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 279.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 267.00 million current US$ | -4.3% |
| 1997 | 280.00 million current US$ | +4.9% |
| 1998 | 326.00 million current US$ | +16.4% |
| 1999 | 341.00 million current US$ | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 383.00 million current US$ | +12.3% |
| 2001 | 402.00 million current US$ | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 438.00 million current US$ | +9.0% |
| 2003 | 462.00 million current US$ | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 499.00 million current US$ | +8.0% |
| 2005 | 552.00 million current US$ | +10.6% |
| 2006 | 666.00 million current US$ | +20.7% |
| 2007 | 709.00 million current US$ | +6.5% |
| 2008 | 777.00 million current US$ | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 735.00 million current US$ | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 828.00 million current US$ | +12.7% |
| 2011 | 926.00 million current US$ | +11.8% |
| 2012 | 1.22 billion current US$ | +31.6% |
| 2013 | 1.81 billion current US$ | +48.3% |
| 2014 | 1.92 billion current US$ | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 2.15 billion current US$ | +12.0% |
| 2016 | 2.29 billion current US$ | +6.6% |
| 2017 | 2.41 billion current US$ | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 2.49 billion current US$ | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 2.44 billion current US$ | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 802.60 million current US$ | -67.1% |
| 2021 | 327.70 million current US$ | -59.2% |
| 2022 | 423.62 million current US$ | +29.3% |
| 2023 | 396.11 million current US$ | -6.5% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 396.11 million current US$ is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.09 billion current US$, 36% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 396.11 million current US$ is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.32 billion current US$, 30% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -67.1% | 2.44 billion current US$ | 802.60 million current US$ |
| 2021 | -59.2% | 802.60 million current US$ | 327.70 million current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 298.60 million current US$ | 267.00 million current US$ | 341.00 million current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 562.30 million current US$ | 383.00 million current US$ | 777.00 million current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.85 billion current US$ | 828.00 million current US$ | 2.49 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 487.51 million current US$ | 327.70 million current US$ | 802.60 million current US$ | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka?
- Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Sri Lanka was 396.11 million current US$ in 2023, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.49 billion current US$ in 2018.
- What is the lowest spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 267.00 million current US$ in 1996.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad?
- Sri Lanka ranks 123rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 78.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Money spent by a country’s residents abroad on accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to foreign airlines. The data is expressed in current US dollars and is not adjusted for inflation or differences in living costs between countries.