Sri Lanka will focus on stronger recovery this year after the island nation posted real GDP growth of 5% in 2024, the highest in seven years, its central bank chief said, hoping to accelerate a rebound from its worst financial crisis in decades.
Sri Lanka’s economy crumpled under a severe foreign exchange crisis in 2022, but has posted a faster than expected rally after it secured a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program in March 2023 and completed a $25 billion debt restructuring in December. The economy grew 5.2% in the first nine months of 2024, outstripping the 3% estimate by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said.