By: Staff Writer
May 16, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka Workers’ remittances hit a record high for the month of April, surging to $ 646.1 million, marking the second consecutive month of record inflows for 2025, the latest Central Bank data revealed.
The April inflow reflects a robust 19% year-on-year (YoY) growth, although it registered a 7.3% dip compared to March 2025.
The April 2025 figure is also the fourth-highest monthly remittance inflow in history, behind $ 812.7 million recorded in December 2020, $ 729.35 in January 2018 and $ 693.3 million in March 2025.
The improved inflows during April also boosted the cumulative remittances for the first four months of 2025, which reached over $ 2.46 billion—an 18.3% YoY increase and the highest cumulative in the period since 2021.
The cumulative figure also represents a 4% increase compared to the $ 2.37 billion registered in the same period of 2016 — the year that holds the record for the highest annual workers’ remittances inflow at $ 7.24 billion.
In the first quarter of 2025, Sri Lanka’s worker remittances surged to over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, a significant increase from the 1.5 billion dollars received during the same period in 2024, according to Sri Lanka tourism ministrydata.
This strong performance underscores the crucial role of remittances in stabilizing Sri Lanka’s economy, particularly its foreign exchange reserves.
Remittances, which are inflows of migrants’ and short-term employees’ income transfers, are a significant source of income for Sri Lanka.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has emphasized the importance of remittances in stabilizing foreign exchange reserves, which are vital for the country’s ability to import essential goods.
Unlike many merchandise exports, remittances do not involve import content, making them a valuable source of foreign exchange.
Strengthening remittance inflows can help narrow the current account deficit, support economic growth, improve forex liquidity, alleviate poverty and income disparities, and reduce the fiscal burden on social security payments.
The CBSL established the Foreign Remittance Facilitation Department (FRFD) in 2021 to facilitate and streamline remittance flows. The Ministry of Labour is also involved in promoting migration and remittances:
The Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment is working to strategically incorporate migration for employment into national plans and budgets, including remittance management and promoting engagement of Overseas Sri Lankans (OSL).
In February 2025, remittances surpassed the combined income from foreign exchange reserves and garment exports, highlighting their importance.
In 2024, workers’ remittances hit a four-year high of $ 6.57 billion, up by 10.1% from $ 5.69 billion in 2023. This growth was followed by a record wave of people seeking foreign employment after an unprecedented economic crisis.
The sharpest post-crisis rebound was in 2023, when workers’ remittances grew by 57% to $ 6 billion, recovering from a 12-year low of $ 3.78 billion in 2022.
Historically, the highest-ever annual workers’ remittances were recorded in 2016, whilst between 2014 and 2018, the annual inflows averaged around $ 7 billion, or roughly around $ 600 million per month.
