Asian Economy: Overview, Growth and Development - Sri Lanka's economy shrank by record 7.8pc last year.

Byline: S. KAMAL HAYDER KAZMI

Sri Lanka's crisis-hit economy shrank by a record 7.8 percent last year, official data shows, as the country struggles with its worst financial crisis in seven decades.

The island's fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 12.4 percent, according to the figures released by the state-run census and statistics department on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's growth is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday but growth is expected to rebound in 2024.

An unprecedented economic crisis sparked huge protests in the island nation, culminating last July when a mob stormed the home of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee the country and resign.

Since then, a new government has worked to repair Sri Lanka's...