Sri Lanka\u2019s internet use and digital skills rose sharply in 2025, but low computer ownership and widening gaps between urban and rural communities continue to expose a deep digital divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Computer Literacy Statistics 2025 bulletin issued by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), internet use among people aged 5 to 69 increased to 62.4% in 2025, from 54.6% in 2024 and 51.2% in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Computer literacy also improved, while digital literacy reached 72%. However, only 21.3% of households owned a desktop or laptop computer, highlighting the gap between digital skills and access to personal computing devices, the Department of Census and Statistics noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Computer ownership was highest in urban areas at 37.8%, compared with 18.6% in rural areas and just 5.2% in the estate sector. Western Province recorded the highest ownership rate at 34%, while Northern Province had the lowest at 10.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Age remained a major barrier to digital participation. Internet use reached 91.6% among those aged 20-24, but fell to just 24.2% among people aged 60-69. Computer literacy showed a similar pattern, dropping to 8.7% among the 60-69 age group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Significant differences were also recorded by occupation, with computer literacy highest among clerical workers and professionals, while agricultural and elementary workers recorded much lower rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men continued to have a slight advantage, with 64.3% using the internet compared with 60.7% of women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Department of Census and Statistics figures, Sri Lanka is becoming increasingly connected, but access to devices, skills and digital opportunities remains highly unequal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source : The Morning <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sri Lanka\u2019s internet use and digital skills rose sharply in 2025, but low computer ownership and widening gaps between urban and rural communities continue to expose a deep digital divide. According to the Computer Literacy Statistics 2025 bulletin issued by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), internet use among people aged 5 to 69 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t