• 72% women not working 
•  329,211 unemployed 

More than 8.6 million Sri Lankans aged 15 and above were outside the labour force in 2025, accounting for 50.6% of the population in that age group, according to the Labour Force Survey 2025 released by the Department of Census and Statistics.

The survey recorded 8,625,859 people outside the labour force, while the overall labour-force participation rate stood at 49.4%.

Women accounted for the overwhelming majority of those outside the labour force. Of the total, 6,185,730 were women, compared to 2,440,129 men. Women therefore accounted for about 72% of the population outside the labour force, while men represented approximately 28%.

The gender disparity was also reflected in labour-force participation, with 69.1% of men aged 15 and above participating in the labour market, compared to just 32.4% of women.

The majority of those outside the labour force were from rural areas. The survey recorded 7,076,080 people outside the labour force in rural areas, compared to 1,549,778 in urban areas, meaning rural residents accounted for about 82% of the total.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in 2025, with an estimated 329,211 people unemployed.

The female unemployment rate was 6.1%, more than twice the 2.8% recorded among men. The survey also showed that female unemployment remained higher than male unemployment throughout the 2018–2025 period.

Unemployment varied across residential sectors, with the rate standing at 3.4% in urban areas, 4% in rural areas and 4.8% in the estate sector. The national unemployment rate of 3.9% was therefore lower than the rates recorded in both rural and estate areas.

Significant disparities were also recorded among districts.

Hambantota reported the highest unemployment rate at 6.6%, followed by Kegalle at 6% and both Matale and Kandy at 5.9%. Matara recorded 4.8%, while Batticaloa and Kurunegala each recorded 4.3% and Badulla 4.1%.

Jaffna recorded an unemployment rate of 3.4%, while Colombo stood at 3%.

Trincomalee recorded the lowest unemployment rate among the districts listed at 0.6%, followed by Mullaitivu at 1.7% and Mannar at 1.8%.

The survey, conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, measures employment, unemployment and labour-force participation in Sri Lanka.

The district-level figures indicate substantial variation in unemployment across the country, despite the national rate standing at 3.9%.