Public sector employees in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Public sector employees was 1,149 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1,149
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
22nd
of 64 countries
All-time high
1,235
in 2021
All-time low
1,100
in 2010
Years of data
14
2010–2024

Public sector employees in Sri Lanka, 2010–2024

02505007501.0k1.2k2010201720242010: 1.1k2011: 1.1k2013: 1.2k2014: 1.2k2015: 1.2k2016: 1.2k2017: 1.2k2018: 1.2k2019: 1.2k2020: 1.2k2021: 1.2k2022: 1.2k2023: 1.2k2024: 1.1k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2024, public sector employees in Sri Lanka stood at 1,149.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employees in Sri Lanka peaked at 1,235 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1,100, in 2010.

That places Sri Lanka 22nd out of 64 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Public sector employees in Sri Lanka, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employees in Sri Lanka, 2010 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2010 1,100
2011 1,108 +0.7%
2013 1,163 +5.0%
2014 1,186 +2.0%
2015 1,183 -0.3%
2016 1,158 -2.1%
2017 1,179 +1.8%
2018 1,158 -1.7%
2019 1,217 +5.0%
2020 1,184 -2.7%
2021 1,235 +4.3%
2022 1,232 -0.3%
2023 1,168 -5.2%
2024 1,149 -1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 1,161 1,100 1,217 9
2020s 1,193 1,149 1,235 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 19 Peru 1,517 compare
  2. 20 Tanzania 1,299 compare
  3. 21 Myanmar 1,201 compare
  4. 23 Angola 1,045 compare
  5. 24 Chile 904.42 compare
  6. 25 Colombia 873.39 compare

See the full ranking of 64 places →

More work & labour data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employees in Sri Lanka?
Public sector employees in Sri Lanka was 1,149 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest public sector employees recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 1,235 in 2021.
What is the lowest public sector employees recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 1,100 in 2010.
How does Sri Lanka rank for public sector employees?
Sri Lanka ranks 22nd out of 64 countries with data for 2024.
Is public sector employees rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. 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 Public sector employees. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employees
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
64 places, 943 data points, 1987–2026
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. Type of job contract refers to permanent versus temporary (i.e. short-term or casual) contracts. For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.