Part 698

Economy -------

Economic overview: Industry - dominated by the fast-growing apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth accelerated in 1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for foreign investment brightened. In 1995, however, the government's emphasis on populist measures and its preoccupation with the stepped-up Tamil insurgency have clouded Sri Lanka's economic prospects and discouraged foreign investors. A further problem for 1996 is the need to curb government overspending.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $65.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 24% industry: 24% services: 52% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 6.1 million by occupation: agriculture 45%, services 37%, industry 18% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13% (1994 est.)

Budget: revenues: $2.7 billion expenditures: $3.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $851 million (1995)

Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 9% (1994 est.)

Electricity: capacity: 1,410,000 kW production: 3.2 billion kWh consumption per capita: 168 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat

Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: garments and textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems, petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products, marine products, graphite partners: US 34.7%, UK, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, France (1994)

Imports: $4.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: textiles and textile materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, food, petroleum, building materials partners: Japan, India, UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China (1994)

External debt: $8.8 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $423 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 54.158 (January 1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830 (1992), 41.372 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation --------------

Railways: total: 1,484 km broad gauge: 1,459 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 25 km .762-m gauge (1995)

Highways: total: 94,651 km paved: 25,749 km unpaved: 68,902 km (1990)

Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Ports: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

Merchant marine: total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,508 GRT/329,410 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 8 (1995 est.)