Sri Lanka economy reports 4.8% growth in first quarter

Sri Lanka's economy grew 4.8 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of 2025, official data showed on Monday, indicating a deepening recovery from its worst financial crisis in decades.

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Meanwhile Sri Lanka has made substantial progress on an IMF-supported economic reform programme, but more work is needed to reduce the Asian country's 24.5 per cent poverty rate, tackle corruption and reduce domestic debt, the global lender's No. 2 official said Monday.

In remarks prepared for a conference in Colombo, Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Sri Lanka's reforms had tested the country's social fabric, but also paved the way for a more resilient future.

Sri Lanka, which plunged into financial crisis due to a record shortage of dollars three years ago, has recovered strongly since securing a four-year programme from the global lender in March 2023.