Sri Lanka returns to upper-middle-income status after economic rebound
Sri Lanka previously entered the upper-middle-income tier in July 2019 but was downgraded back to the lower-middle band a year later as domestic policy shocks and pandemic pressures eroded its economic baseline.
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka has been reclassified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank, marking a return to the category four years after the country's worst economic crisis pushed it to the brink of collapse, reported Xinhua.
The latest country income classification, released on July 1, places Sri Lanka back among upper-middle-income economies following a recovery led by stronger output across industry, manufacturing, financial services and tourism. The World Bank said Sri Lanka's real GDP grew by 5 per cent in 2025.
"Sri Lanka is a story of recovery. Just three years after a severe economic crisis brought the country to the brink of collapse in 2022, real GDP grew by 5 per cent in 2025, driven by a rebound across industries and growth in financial and tourism services. The reclassification is a marker of resilience, though the country only narrowly crossed the threshold," it said.
The World Bank updates its income classifications on July 1 each year through its Development Data Group, using gross national income per capita estimates from the previous calendar year. Economies are grouped as low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income or high-income. This year's classification covers 218 economies and will remain the global reference until the end of June 2027.- BERNAMA
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