Sri Lanka PC ownership dips, usage of smartphones and tabs up

Apr 06, 2017 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's computer literacy, the ability to operate a computer by oneself, increased slightly to 27.

5 percent in the first half of 2016 from 26.6 percent YoY. Over two-thirds of the population said that they had acquired the skills at school or at university, according to the latest data released by the Census and Statistics Department.

The survey results reveal that higher the level of education, higher the computer literacy. The group with G.C.E.(A/L) or above level of education shows the highest computer literacy rate (71.



3 percent). Also computer literacy is higher among those literate in English language (72.5 percent). Computer literacy among the employed population is around 64.

8 percent in 1st half of 2016 and the positions such as managers, senior officials and legislators (76.1 percent), professionals (90.3 percent), technical and associate professionals (88.

7 percent) and clerks and clerical support workers (91.5 percent) have higher computer literacy. However, the ownership of desktops and laptops in Sri Lanka has fallen significantly in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 due to increased use of smartphones and tablets. According to the data the number of households that own a laptop or a desktop fell to 22.5 percent in first half of 2016 from 24.

4 percent year-on-year (YoY). The ownership of a desktop fell to 13.1 percent in 1H16 from 15.3 percent YoY. The Urban sector shows the highest computer literacy rate (38.





5 percent) among residential sectors. Computer literacy rate for Rural and Estate are 26.1 percent and 9.9 percent respectively. Among the provinces with the highest level of computer literacy is reported from the Western province (38.5 percent) while the lowest percentage is reported from Eastern province.