01Key Takeaways
- Sri Lanka imported $16.39 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 6.7% from $17.56 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led every import category by a wide margin, worth $4.07 billion, or 24.8% of the total.
- India was Sri Lanka's largest import partner, supplying 19.5% of imports, worth $3.19 billion, closely followed by China at 18.9%.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 47.9% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $19.5B | $15.6B | $21.5B | $17.6B | $16.4B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | $3.2B | 19.5% |
| 2 | China | $3.1B | 18.9% |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | $1.6B | 9.5% |
| 4 | Singapore | $873.2M | 5.3% |
| 5 | Malaysia | $741.5M | 4.5% |
| 6 | United States | $513.4M | 3.1% |
| 7 | Russia | $395.0M | 2.4% |
| 8 | Indonesia | $373.5M | 2.3% |
| 9 | Oman | $355.1M | 2.2% |
| 10 | Pakistan | $325.8M | 2.0% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $4.1B | 24.8% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.0B | 6.4% |
| 3 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $944.0M | 5.8% |
| 4 | Knitted or Crocheted Fabrics | $785.1M | 4.8% |
| 5 | Pharmaceutical Products | $562.9M | 3.4% |
| 6 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $545.3M | 3.3% |
| 7 | Cotton | $525.4M | 3.2% |
| 8 | Iron and Steel | $462.7M | 2.8% |
| 9 | Sugars and Sugar Confectionery | $438.7M | 2.7% |
| 10 | Paper and Paperboard; Articles of Paper Pulp, of Paper or of Paperboard | $410.2M | 2.5% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Fell for a Second Straight Year in 2023
Sri Lanka imported $16.39 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 6.7% from $17.56 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023. Trade activity across this window reflects a mix of global demand swings and disruptions common to many importing economies during this period.
Import value stood at $19.47 billion in 2019. It fell to $15.61 billion in 2020, then rebounded sharply to $21.50 billion in 2021, the high point of this five-year window. Import value has eased in both years since, falling to $17.56 billion in 2022 and $16.39 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 drop, the 2021 rebound, or the two-year pullback that followed. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained above both 2019's neighboring low and 2020 itself. A decline of 6.7%, arriving on the back of a similar drop the year before, describes a gradual cooling rather than a single sharp shock. The five-year pattern traces a dip, a sharp rebound, and then two consecutive years of easing, rather than a steady move in one direction. Two straight years of decline after a peak year is a different shape from the export side of trade for this country, which fell only once over the same stretch, in the most recent year alone.
Mineral Fuels Dominate an Import List Reflecting Energy Dependence
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $4.07 billion, or 24.8% of the total, by far the largest single category on this list. With no oil or natural gas reserves, Sri Lanka is entirely dependent on imports for its petroleum needs, and Gulf suppliers provide more than half of that fuel. That dependence helps explain why mineral fuels sit so far ahead of every other category on this list.
Machinery and mechanical appliances ranked second at 6.4%, worth $1.04 billion. Electrical machinery and equipment followed at 5.8%, worth $943.95 million. Fabrics, knitted or crocheted, rounded out a top four at 4.8%, worth $785.13 million, a category tied to the same textile industry that anchors the country's export side of trade. Machinery, electronics and textile inputs together describe an industrial base that still depends on imported components even as it exports finished apparel.
Pharmaceutical products contributed 3.4% ($562.85 million), and plastics added 3.3% ($545.26 million). Cotton followed at 3.2% ($525.43 million), and iron and steel added 2.8% ($462.72 million). Sugars and sugar confectionery contributed 2.7% ($438.73 million), and paper and paperboard closed out the top ten at 2.5%, worth $410.22 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Mineral fuels alone are worth close to four times the second-place category. That gap describes an import list shaped overwhelmingly by a single structural need rather than a broad, evenly spread basket of goods. The remaining nine categories on this list are spread far more evenly than the top spot, each holding a single-digit share, describing a long tail of industrial and consumer goods beneath the energy category at the top.
India and China Together Supply Nearly Two-Fifths of Imports
India was Sri Lanka's largest import partner in 2023, supplying 19.5% of imports, worth $3.19 billion. China ranked a close second at 18.9%, worth $3.10 billion. Together, these two partners alone accounted for well over a third of total import value, and the top three partners combined reached 47.9%.
United Arab Emirates rounded out the top three at 9.5%, worth $1.56 billion, consistent with its role as a major fuel supplier noted above. Singapore followed at 5.3% ($873.24 million), and Malaysia added 4.5% ($741.46 million). These two Southeast Asian hubs sit well behind the top three, but still outrank every partner outside Asia and the Gulf.
United States contributed 3.1% ($513.37 million), and Russia added 2.4% ($395.04 million). Indonesia followed at 2.3% ($373.47 million), and Oman added 2.2% ($355.08 million). Pakistan closed out the top ten at 2.0%, worth $325.78 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. India and China's combined lead over the rest of this list is wide, and Oman's presence in the top ten lines up with the Gulf's role as a fuel source described above. Eight of these ten partners sit in Asia or the Middle East, leaving only a narrow opening for suppliers based elsewhere in the world.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile dominated by a single energy category, sourced from a partner base led by two Asian economies in India and China, with Gulf suppliers filling out the middle of the list.