Sri Lanka Borrowing History
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ණය ලබාගැනීමේ ඉතිහාසය
“Explore how much Sri Lanka borrowed, from whom, when, for what purpose, under what terms, how much has been repaid, and how much remains outstanding.”
“ශ්රී ලංකාව කවදා, කාගෙන්, කොපමණ ණය ලබාගෙන තිබේද, එම ණය සඳහා වූ කොන්දේසි මොනවාද, කොපමණ ප්රමාණයක් ආපසු ගෙවා තිබේද සහ තව කොපමණක් ගෙවීමට තිබේද යන්න මූලාශ්ර සහිතව ගවේෂණය කරන්න.”
Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Ministry of Finance Public Debt Bulletins & IMF Disclosures
Main Borrowing Timeline
Hover over any milestone to preview verified loan terms, creditor, currency, and government in office. Click to explore full dossier.
Southern Expressway (E01) - ADB Project Loan
Norochcholai Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (Phase I - 300MW)
Upper Kotmale Hydroelectric Power Project (150MW)
Hambantota Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (Phase I)
Inaugural International Sovereign Bond (ISB 2007 - $500M)
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Sovereign Guaranteed Working Capital Loan
Government of India / SBI Emergency Petroleum Facility ($500M)
World Bank Resilience, Stability & Economic Turnaround DPO ($500M)
Restructured Macro-Linked Sovereign Bonds (MLB Series 2024–2038)
364-Day Government of Sri Lanka Treasury Bills (Series 2025/2026)
New Borrowing by Year (1995–2026)
Toggle between nominal currencies, GDP ratios, cumulative flows, and currency valuation adjustments.
Gross New Issuance: Shows new commitments & disbursements contracted in each fiscal year across domestic market auctions (T-Bills/Bonds) and external bilateral/multilateral credit facilities.
Year-by-Year Historical Breakdown (2024)
Sri Lanka's Creditors & Exposure Breakdown
Explore who financed Sri Lanka, how much has been repaid, remaining outstanding balance, and restructuring terms under the 2024 agreements.
Creditor Exposure Ranking (Click bar or card to view profile)All figures in USD Billion
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Multilateral Institution (Headquarters: Manila, Philippines)The ADB is Sri Lanka's largest multilateral development partner, providing long-term concessional project financing for national highways, secondary education, rural water schemes, and energy grid stability.
Multilateral development banks hold Preferred Creditor Status and were strictly exempt from debt restructuring cuts. All loans remain performing on original concessionary schedules.
Select Any Creditor To Inspect Portfolio
Currency Composition, Rate Types & Tenure Profiles
Detailed breakdown of foreign exchange exposure, fixed vs. floating interest sensitivity, and loan duration distribution across Sri Lanka's public debt stock.
Debt by Currency (FX Exposure)
100% Total StockInterest Rate Sensitivity (Fixed vs Floating)
Interest RiskHow Long Are Sri Lanka's Loans? (Tenure Distribution)
Grace Period Distribution
Principal MoratoriumBorrowed vs. Inherited Debt & Administration Analysis
Explore the exact mathematical relationship between inherited debt, new borrowing, principal amortization, and exchange rate revaluations across administrations.
The Fundamental Public Debt Equation (Mahinda Rajapaksa Administrations (2005–2015))
Administration Historical Context: Marked the structural entry into international commercial capital markets (inaugural $500M ISB in 2007) and major bilateral infrastructure credit from China Exim Bank (Norochcholai, Hambantota, Southern Expressway). Debt-to-GDP dropped from 90.6% to 71.3% due to high post-war nominal GDP growth.
Comparative Recorded Borrowing by Government Period
Click row to load equation simulator| Administration | Period | President & Finance Minister | Recorded New Borrowing | Annual Average | Commercial / ISB | Debt Stock (Start → End) | Debt/GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Administrations | 1994–2005 (11 Years) | Chandrika Bandaranaike KumaratungaFM: G. L. Peiris / Chandrika Kumaratunga / K. N. Choksy / Sarath Amunugama | $18.2 B(Rs. 1480.5B) | $1.65 B/yr | $0 B | Rs. 536.8B → Rs. 2222.3B | 95.1% → 90.6% |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa Administrations | 2005–2015 (9 Years) | Mahinda RajapaksaFM: Mahinda Rajapaksa | $41.5 B(Rs. 4820B) | $4.61 B/yr | $5.5 B | Rs. 2222.3B → Rs. 7390.9B | 90.6% → 71.3% |
| Maithripala Sirisena / Ranil Wickremesinghe Administration | 2015–2019 (5 Years) | Maithripala SirisenaFM: Ravi Karunanayake / Mangala Samaraweera | $35.8 B(Rs. 5450B) | $7.16 B/yr | $12.05 B | Rs. 7390.9B → Rs. 13031.5B | 71.3% → 86.8% |
| Gotabaya Rajapaksa Administration | 2019–2022 (2.5 Years) | Gotabaya RajapaksaFM: Mahinda Rajapaksa / Basil Rajapaksa / Ali Sabry | $24.2 B(Rs. 6850B) | $9.68 B/yr | $0 B | Rs. 13031.5B → Rs. 27500B | 86.8% → 113.8% |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe Administration | 2022–2024 (2 Years) | Ranil WickremesingheFM: Ranil Wickremesinghe | $7.85 B(Rs. 2450B) | $3.92 B/yr | $0 B | Rs. 27500B → Rs. 28450B | 113.8% → 98.4% |
| Anura Kumara Dissanayake Administration | 2024–Present | Anura Kumara DissanayakeFM: Anura Kumara Dissanayake | $4.7 B(Rs. 1420B) | $3.13 B/yr | $0 B | Rs. 28450B → Rs. 28025.6B | 98.4% → 91.2% |
“Follow the Money”: Loan Origin → Allocation → Audit → Repayment
Every loan in LankaScope links verified creditor contracts to the General Treasury, receiving line ministries, national project sites, Auditor General queries, and current amortization status.
Norochcholai Lakvijaya 300MW Coal Power Plant
Auditor General Special Report 2015 on emergency thermal fuel purchases due to turbine trips (COPA Directed)
Loan Amortization & Debt Service Calculator
Simulate how principal, interest rates, grace periods, and amortization methods shape the lifetime cash-flow burden of sovereign and public credit facilities.
Projected Outstanding Balance & Amortization CurveYear 1 to Year 20
Loan-by-Loan Database
Search, filter, and inspect verified sovereign loans, bilateral credits, and sovereign bond facilities.
What the Data Says: Key Structural Findings (1995–2026)
Until 2007, Sri Lanka's external borrowing was nearly 100% concessional from multilateral (ADB, World Bank) and bilateral (Japan) partners at average interest rates under 2.5% with 25-40 year maturities. The inaugural 2007 ISB marked a rapid pivot to commercial sovereign bonds that peaked at over 38% of total external debt by 2019.
Over Rs. 8,800 Billion in public debt expansion between 2019 and 2022 was driven purely by the depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee from LKR 182 to 363 / USD rather than new cash borrowing commitments.
Domestic debt accounts for 55.0% of total public obligations (Rs. 17.2 Trillion), primarily held in Treasury Bills and Bonds by domestic commercial banks and superannuation funds (EPF/ETF).
The 2024 Macro-Linked Bond exchange delivered a 27% nominal principal reduction on commercial ISBs, while the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and China Exim Bank extended bilateral loan repayment maturities through 2034–2042.
Important Data Limitation Note (දත්ත සීමාවන් පිළිබඳ වැදගත් සටහන)
“Not every historical borrowing instrument is available in the same level of detail. Where exact loan-level data is unavailable, LankaScope presents the latest authoritative aggregate data and clearly labels missing fields.”
“සෑම ඓතිහාසික ණය උපකරණයක්ම එකම මට්ටමේ විස්තර සහිතව ප්රසිද්ධ කර නොමැත. නිශ්චිත ණය මට්ටමේ දත්ත නොමැති අවස්ථාවලදී, ලංකාස්කෝප් නවතම නිල සමස්ත දත්ත ඉදිරිපත් කරන අතර නොමැති ක්ෂේත්ර පැහැදිලිව සටහන් කරයි.”