Sri Lanka records increase in digital usage creating need for improved digital literacy
The Census and Statistics Department of Sri Lanka has reportedly recorded that more than one out of every five households in Sri Lanka owns a computer or laptop, but it has also showed that digital literacy is outstripping computer literacy as smart phone usage has grown in the country.
According to the Department, in the first half of 2018, at least one computer was available in 22.9% of households in the country, which meant than one out of every five households owned either a desktop or a laptop computer. This percentage is 39.5% in the urban sector. The Rural and Estate sectors show 20.3% and 4.9% respectively. The highest availability is in the Western Province (33.4%) while the lowest availability is reported from the Uva Province (10.7%).
“When digital literacy is considered two out of every five (aged five to 69) has digital literacy. Digital literacy is higher than computer literacy for all disaggregated levels, showing the drift from personal computers to smart phones/tablets,” the report released by the Census and Statistics Department has said.
According to the report, overall computer literacy reported in the first half of 2018 for Sri Lanka is 27.5%.
The survey results show a decrease of 0.8% from 2017 (1st half) to 2018 (1st half). The Urban sector shows the highest computer literacy rate (38.4%) among residential sectors. Computer literacy rate for Rural and Estate sectors are 25.9% and 11.1% respectively.
The report has further stated that among the provinces the highest level of computer literacy is reported from the Western Province (36.1%) while the lowest percentage is reported from the Eastern Province.
Computer literacy rate among districts show variations ranging from 8.6% (Kilinochchi) to 42.6% (Colombo) and shows the still-prevailing digital divide.
OSL take:
The Sri Lankan government has adopted a policy of converting the country into an e-economy and has been giving prominence to the promotion of digital platforms throughout Sri Lanka. The increase in digital usage by the Sri Lankan public and the government’s need to improve Sri Lanka’s digital literacy indicates an opening for new business ventures for foreign businesses engaged in introducing and operating digital platforms.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/31012019/Z_1 |