Computer literacy in Sri Lanka has increased from 16.1 percent in 2006/07 to 27.1 percent in 2015, according to a national survey conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics.

The survey also reveals that the highest computer literacy rates were in the urban sector (39.2%), followed by the rural (25.5%) and estate (9%) sectors. The Colombo District recorded the highest computer literacy rate (28.1%), while the Badulla District was found to have the lowest (3.5%).

Computer literacy was reported to be 29.1 percent among males and 25.3 percent among females. The highest literacy rates in an age group prevailed among 15 to 19 year olds (58.7%).

While a 70 percent literacy rate was reported in the educational sphere, including students above the GCE A-Levels, an overall high rate is said to prevail among those who have high English-language skills (69.5%).

Taking the country’s urban and rural areas into consideration, one-in-four houses had a computer, with 12-in-100 people between the ages of five and 69 found to have used the Internet during the past year.