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Sri Lanka — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Sri Lanka, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
48.52%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -21.0% since 1990
Labor participation for Sri Lanka was 48.52% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 61.45% in 1990. The lowest was 47.40% in 2023 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.67% per year.
Sri Lanka ranks 163 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 87%. The median for South Asia is 58.80%, so Sri Lanka sits below it. It peaked in 1990 and has fallen 21% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 10%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
48.52%
First (1990)
61.45%
Change
-21.0%
Highest
61.45%
in 1990
Lowest
47.40%
in 2023
Average
53.90%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.67%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 48.52% |
| 2024 | 48.6% |
| 2023 | 47.4% |
| 2022 | 49.73% |
| 2021 | 49.84% |
| 2020 | 50.5% |
| 2019 | 52.25% |
| 2018 | 51.72% |
| 2017 | 53.99% |
| 2016 | 53.73% |
| 2015 | 53.67% |
| 2014 | 51.6% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.