Only two out of five people are computer-literate in Sri Lanka

By Huzefa Aliasger

Only two out of five people are computer-literate in Sri  Lanka in 2024, with 64.1 per cent of Sri Lankans unable to use a  computer, according to statistics released by the Department of Census  and Statistics. The Department said the computer literacy rate remained  shockingly low, and “The survey results show a decrease of 3.1 percentage  points from 2023 to 2024.

The urban sector shows the highest computer  literacy rate (47.3 per cent) among residential sectors in 2024.  Computer literacy rate for Rural and Estate sectors is 34.5 per cent  and 14.9 per cent respectively.”   

Computer literacy among males (37.3 per cent) is higher  than that of females (34.6 per cent) in 2024. Young youths (aged 15–19  years) show the highest computer literacy rate (75.0 per cent) among all  other age groups. However, the digital literacy rate is 65 per cent.  

Digital literacy is the ability to use and understand  tablets or smartphones, while according to the DCS, the criteria given  for computer literacy is “A person is considered a computer-literate  person if he or she can use a computer on his or her own. For example,  even if a five-year-old child can play a computer game, then he or she  is considered a computer-literate person.”   

The reason for the gap between digital and computer  literacy, given in the survey, is “the current patterns indicating a  drift from Personal Computer to Smartphones/Tablets.”  

According to the survey, 53.6 per cent of the population  aged 5 to 69 years uses the internet facility at least once during the  twelve months in 2024. The survey results further reveal that in the  urban sector, where the facilities are largely available, the  highest usage of both e-mail and the internet is compared to the other two  sectors.