Sri Lanka - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in Sri Lanka was 25.24 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 60 years was 39.06 in 2012, while its lowest value was 12.53 in 1965.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1960 14.21
1961 17.29
1962 15.33
1963 17.00
1964 14.44
1965 12.53
1966 14.33
1967 15.24
1968 15.85
1969 19.27
1970 18.95
1971 17.07
1972 17.30
1973 13.74
1974 15.71
1975 15.58
1976 16.21
1977 14.45
1978 20.05
1979 25.82
1980 33.77
1981 27.77
1982 30.76
1983 28.89
1984 25.83
1985 23.82
1986 23.66
1987 23.33
1988 22.78
1989 21.72
1990 22.21
1991 22.87
1992 24.28
1993 25.56
1994 27.03
1995 25.73
1996 24.25
1997 24.39
1998 25.14
1999 27.29
2000 28.04
2001 22.00
2002 23.29
2003 22.02
2004 25.25
2005 26.83
2006 27.98
2007 27.95
2008 27.55
2009 24.43
2010 30.35
2011 33.36
2012 39.06
2013 33.25
2014 32.31
2015 31.18
2016 27.85
2017 31.59
2018 29.85
2019 26.84
2020 25.24

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts