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Sri Lanka — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Sri Lanka, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.00%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -72.7% since 1991
Unemployment for Sri Lanka was 4.00% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 14.66% in 1991. The lowest was 3.88% in 2012 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -3.74% per year.
Sri Lanka ranks 120 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 64%. The median for South Asia is 4.22%, so Sri Lanka sits below it. It peaked in 1991 and has fallen 73% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 11%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.00%
First (1991)
14.66%
Change
-72.7%
Highest
14.66%
in 1991
Lowest
3.88%
in 2012
Average
7.17%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-3.74%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.01% |
| 2024 | 4.24% |
| 2023 | 4.53% |
| 2022 | 4.53% |
| 2021 | 4.98% |
| 2020 | 5.36% |
| 2019 | 4.67% |
| 2018 | 4.32% |
| 2017 | 4.05% |
| 2016 | 4.24% |
| 2015 | 4.52% |
| 2014 | 4.16% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. 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.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment 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.