January kicks off with record US$ 751mn in remittances

​Sri Lanka kicked off 2026 with solid inflows from worker remittances, as January recorded another monthly high with Sri Lankans working abroad continuing to send substantial funds back home in the new year.

​In January, expatriates repatriated a record US$ 751.1 million in foreign currency via official banking channels. This is a substantial increase of 31.1 percent compared to the US$ 573.0 million recorded in the same month last year.

​The figure represents a slight decline, as expected, from the US$ 879.1 million received in December 2025, when Sri Lanka typically witnesses above-average inflows towards the year-end.

​Sri Lanka is coming off a record year in 2025 for remittance income, with the country recording total receipts of US$ 8,076.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 22.8 percent. The previous highest annual remittance inflow was recorded in 2017, when the country received US$ 7,164 million.

​The Central Bank remains upbeat on the country’s economy and the external sector due to robust inflows from remittances, tourism, and exports, the latter of which also hit a record high in 2025. The lesson for Sri Lanka is that when applied correctly, tariffs are a great enabler of a country’s exports, wealth, and growth.

​Meanwhile, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told a forum last week that Sri Lanka would not face another sovereign debt crisis and that the country is poised to continue repaying its external debt as scheduled.

​Speaking at a Ceylon Chamber of Commerce event, Dr. Weerasinghe shrugged off the “2028 debt phobia” created by some narratives suggesting the government would be unable to meet debt service payments come 2028, leading to another restructure.