Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Industry jobs as a share of total employment was 26.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka is 26.3%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka peaked at 28.4% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 16.9%, in 1992.
That places Sri Lanka 34th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 22.6% | — |
| 1992 | 16.9% | -25.1% |
| 1993 | 17.5% | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 17.3% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 21.2% | +22.6% |
| 1996 | 19.5% | -7.9% |
| 1997 | 20.2% | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 19.5% | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 19.6% | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 19.7% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 19.3% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 19.4% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 19.8% | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 21.1% | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 22.6% | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 23.0% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 23.2% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 23.5% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 23.7% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 24.2% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 24.8% | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 26.1% | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 25.8% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 26.3% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 25.8% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 26.4% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 28.4% | +7.6% |
| 2018 | 27.9% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 27.6% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 26.9% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 26.0% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 26.5% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 26.3% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 26.1% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 26.3% | +0.9% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 26.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.1%, 1.2× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 26.3% is above the median for South Asia, which is 21.9%, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -25.1% | 22.6% | 16.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.4% | 16.9% | 22.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 21.5% | 19.3% | 23.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.3% | 24.2% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.3% | 26.0% | 26.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka?
- Industry jobs as a share of total employment in Sri Lanka was 26.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest industry jobs as a share of total employment recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 28.4% in 2017.
- What is the lowest industry jobs as a share of total employment recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.9% in 1992.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for industry jobs as a share of total employment?
- Sri Lanka ranks 34th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is industry jobs as a share of total employment rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Industry jobs as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of total employment working in the industry sector.