Monday Nov 10, 2025
Monday Nov 10, 2025
Monday, 10 November 2025 04:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s workers’ remittances soared to $ 712 million in October 2025, the highest monthly inflow so far this year and the second-highest in the country’s history, reflecting strong overseas worker earnings and sustained recovery in external inflows.
According to the latest data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), October’s figure marks a 21.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase, extending the streak of record inflows for the seventh consecutive month.
The surge underscores the continued resilience of Sri Lankan expatriates, whose remittances remain the single largest source of foreign exchange for the economy.
The October inflow ranks second only to the all-time high of $812.7 million recorded in December 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also surpasses the $702.6 million recorded in September 2020, reflecting a strong upward trend in 2025.
Cumulatively, remittances for the first 10 months of 2025 surpassed $6.5 billion, registering a 20.1% YoY increase and the strongest performance for the period since 2016.
The year-to-date (YTD) total is also 9% higher than the $5.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2016, the year that holds the record for the highest annual workers’ remittance inflow of $7.24 billion.
The post-crisis recovery trajectory has been particularly notable.
In 2023, remittances jumped 57% to $5.96 billion, rebounding from a 12-year low of $3.78 billion in 2022 amid the economic collapse. In 2024, annual inflows further rose 10.1% to $6.57 billion, supported by a sharp increase in outbound labour migration as citizens sought overseas employment in the aftermath of the crisis.
Historically, between 2014 and 2018, Sri Lanka’s annual worker remittances averaged around $7 billion, equivalent to $600 million per month, highlighting the sector’s long-standing role as a stabilising pillar of the country’s balance of payments.
