Employees in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Employees was 4,676 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
4,676
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
39th
of 114 countries
All-time high
4,738
in 2019
All-time low
4,182
in 2011
Years of data
15
2009–2024

Employees in Sri Lanka, 2009–2024

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k2009201620242009: 4.4k2010: 4.3k2011: 4.2k2013: 4.2k2014: 4.3k2015: 4.4k2016: 4.6k2017: 4.7k2018: 4.6k2019: 4.7k2020: 4.6k2021: 4.6k2022: 4.7k2023: 4.7k2024: 4.7k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2024, employees in Sri Lanka stood at 4,676.

That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, employees in Sri Lanka peaked at 4,738 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 4,182, in 2011.

That places Sri Lanka 39th out of 114 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Employees in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Employees in Sri Lanka, 2009 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2009 4,378
2010 4,275 -2.3%
2011 4,182 -2.2%
2013 4,199 +0.4%
2014 4,268 +1.6%
2015 4,397 +3.0%
2016 4,596 +4.5%
2017 4,734 +3.0%
2018 4,633 -2.1%
2019 4,738 +2.3%
2020 4,596 -3.0%
2021 4,646 +1.1%
2022 4,728 +1.8%
2023 4,730 +0.0%
2024 4,676 -1.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4,378 4,378 4,378 1
2010s 4,447 4,182 4,738 9
2020s 4,675 4,596 4,730 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 36 Romania 6,689 compare
  2. 37 Cambodia 4,846 compare
  3. 38 Sweden 4,792 compare
  4. 40 Belarus 4,575 compare
  5. 41 Tanzania 4,559 compare
  6. 42 Portugal 4,474 compare

See the full ranking of 114 places →

More work & labour data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is employees in Sri Lanka?
Employees in Sri Lanka was 4,676 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest employees recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 4,738 in 2019.
What is the lowest employees recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 4,182 in 2011.
How does Sri Lanka rank for employees?
Sri Lanka ranks 39th out of 114 countries with data for 2024.
Is employees rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Employees. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Employees in Sri Lanka. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/employees/sri-lanka/

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About this data

Indicator
Employees
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
114 places, 2,195 data points, 1989–2026
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. Employees are all those workers who hold paid employment jobs, which are those where the incumbents hold employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work. Data disaggregated by economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. Data disaggregated by occupation are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Data may have been regrouped from the national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISCO. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.