Sri Lanka, Oct. 29 -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Sri Lanka's economy will grow by 3.1% in 2026, reflecting a gradual return to its long-term trend, officials said.

Thomas Helbling, Deputy Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, made the announcement during a press conference on the Asia and Pacific Region's Economic Outlook.

Helbling highlighted that Sri Lanka has experienced a strong economic recovery, supported by the government's ongoing reform program in collaboration with the IMF. He noted that the country's growth reached 5% last year and 4.8% in the first half of 2025.

"Some of the strong rebound was just normalization of economic activity, and some of the growth effect is more temporary....