Monday Jun 08, 2026
Monday Jun 08, 2026
Monday, 8 June 2026 05:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
SRI Lanka’s workers’ remittances climbed to a record high in May, whilst lifting cumulative earnings in the first five months of 2026 to an all-time high, underscoring the resilience of migrant worker earnings despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Latest data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed that inflows rose 36.2% year-on-year (YoY) to $ 847 million in May, marking the fifth consecutive month of robust growth and one of the strongest monthly performances on record.
The latest inflow was second only to the historic $ 879 million recorded in December 2025. The performance also surpassed the previous May high of $ 641.7 million recorded in 2025, making it one of the strongest monthly inflows on record.
The remittances in May also increased 10.3% from April’s $ 767.9 million.
The remittances during January-May helped push the cumulative figure to above $ 3.9 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, recording the strongest first-five-month performance in history.
With export earnings and tourism facing external pressures, remittances have once again reinforced their position as Sri Lanka’s single largest source of foreign exchange, providing critical support to external reserves and broader macroeconomic stability.
The strong start to the year follows a historic performance in 2025, when full-year remittances climbed to $ 8.07 billion, a 23% increase from a year earlier and the highest annual inflow ever recorded.
The total exceeded the previous all-time high of $ 7.24 billion in 2016 by about 12%, firmly cementing remittances as Sri Lanka’s largest and most reliable source of foreign exchange during its ongoing post-crisis recovery.
CBSL data show that the rebound has been both sharp and sustained since the collapse in inflows during the 2022 economic crisis, when remittances fell 31% to a 12-year low of $ 3.78 billion amid acute foreign exchange shortages and the proliferation of informal transfer channels.
The turnaround began in 2023, when inflows surged 57% to $ 5.96 billion, marking the strongest post-crisis recovery on record.
Momentum continued in 2024, with remittances rising a further 10.1% YoY to $ 6.57 billion, supported by a wave of outbound labour migration as thousands of Sri Lankans sought overseas employment in the aftermath of the economic collapse.
Although overseas departures eased slightly in 2025, inflows continued to rise, pointing to higher average transfers per worker.
Historically, Sri Lanka’s workers’ remittances averaged around $ 7 billion a year between 2014 and 2018, or roughly $ 600 million a month, reinforcing their longstanding role as a stabilising pillar of the economy.
