Labour force participation in Sri Lanka
The ILO estimates that 48.5% of people aged 15 and over in Sri Lanka were in the labour force in 2025.
Sri Lanka, 2025
48.5%
Change from 2024
−0.1percentage points
World, 2025
60.8%
Position in 2025
160th of 181
Labour force participation in Sri Lanka over time
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Sri Lanka
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of working-age population aged 15 and over. Source: ILO, ILOSTAT (ILO Modelled Estimates). Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years. Dashed lines are projections.
| Period | Sri Lanka | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48.5% | 60.8% |
| 2024 | 48.6% | 61.0% |
| 2023 | 47.4% | 61.0% |
| 2022 | 49.7% | 60.7% |
| 2021 | 49.8% | 60.4% |
| 2020 | 50.5% | 59.7% |
| 2019 | 52.2% | 61.0% |
| 2018 | 51.7% | 61.2% |
| 2017 | 54.0% | 61.3% |
| 2016 | 53.7% | 61.5% |
Flags: f Projection . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of −0.1 percentage points from 48.6% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 53.7%, the figure has changed by −5.2 percentage points.
- Among the 181 countries with data for 2025, Sri Lanka has the 160th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 60.8%.
More for Sri Lanka
All statistics for Sri Lanka
Women's labour force participation
31.0%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Employment-to-population ratio
46.6%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of the unemployment rate
4.0%
2025 · ILOSTAT
ILO estimate of youth unemployment
18.6%
2025 · ILOSTAT
Employment in agriculture
25.9%
2025 · World Bank
Employment in industry
26.3%
2025 · World Bank