JAKARTA - Sri Lanka’s workers’ remittances reached US$847.0 million in May, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in its weekly indicators published on June 5. The monthly inflow rose from US$767.9 million in April and US$641.7 million in May 2025.
The May total increased 10.3% from April and 32.0% from a year earlier. CBSL recorded US$3,909.7 million in workers’ remittances from January to May, up 26.0% from US$3,102.2 million in the same period of 2025. In rupee terms, the five-month inflow reached Rs1,230.4 billion.
The increase adds foreign-currency inflows to Sri Lanka’s external accounts. CBSL provisionally estimated gross official reserves at US$6.873 billion at the end of May, including proceeds from the People’s Bank of China swap arrangement. The bank supplied a net US$211 million to the domestic foreign-exchange market during the month.
A CBSL bulletin covering the fourth quarter of 2025 said, “Workers’ remittances recorded healthy levels in recent months and were at elevated levels compared to the previous year.” Remittances reached US$8,076.2 million in 2025, up 22.8% year on year.
The inflows remain closely linked to overseas employment. The bulletin, citing the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, recorded 310,915 departures for foreign employment in 2025. Skilled workers accounted for 76.2% of the total. The Middle East received 80.2% of departures, with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia among the leading remittance sources.
The bulletin also listed South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, the Maldives and Singapore among the remittance sources recorded by licensed banks. Asia excluding South Asia and Middle Eastern countries accounted for 7.4% of overseas-employment departures in 2025. South Asia accounted for 3.8%, and Australia and New Zealand for 0.6%.
CBSL said the workers’ remittance figures may include other remittances, such as funds received following Cyclone Ditwah, which cost the country roughly $4.1 billion in damage.