Around 43% of highly educated youth unemployed in Sri Lanka: IMF
22-Sep-2026.
Around 43 per cent of highly educated young people in Sri Lanka are unemployed, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF has pointed out that this reflects a serious mismatch between educational qualifications and the requirements of the labour market.
Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of unemployment among highly educated young people compared with other countries.
The figures highlight the difficulties faced by young people in Sri Lanka and other South Asian economies in securing employment after completing their education.
Sri Lanka has an estimated unemployment rate of 43 per cent among highly educated youth, followed by India at around 42 per cent and Bangladesh at approximately 36 per cent.
While the average unemployment rate among comparable countries globally is around 19 per cent, the rate is considerably lower in Singapore, at approximately 8 per cent, and Japan, at around 4 per cent.
These figures highlight the serious employment challenges faced by educated young people in Sri Lanka.
Despite possessing higher educational qualifications, more than four out of every 10 Sri Lankan young people who have completed higher education remain unemployed.
The IMF has identified the difficulty faced by highly educated young workers in securing employment commensurate with their qualifications as a regional issue.
The situation also reflects the continuing gap between the skills produced by education systems and those expected by employers, it has noted.
The IMF has further pointed out that this issue poses an additional challenge to Sri Lanka as it recovers from an economic crisis that affected employment, incomes and family livelihoods. Young people entering the labour market are also facing additional challenges in securing suitable employment in an economy undergoing structural and technological changes.
The data also indicate that artificial intelligence and automation are transforming the environment for workers and creating new challenges. While new technologies have the potential to increase productivity, generate investment and create new forms of employment, demand for entry-level jobs could decline if workers fail to develop skills in line with these changes.
The IMF has stressed the importance of further adapting education and reskilling systems to meet the changing requirements of the labour market. It has also emphasised that universities, vocational training institutions and technical education programmes should ensure that graduates possess skills relevant to employers' requirements.
In Sri Lanka, an important economic transformation should focus not only on increasing the number of jobs available but also on improving the quality and relevance of employment opportunities for graduates, the IMF has pointed out. Stronger links between universities, industry and skills-training institutions could help bridge the gap between educational qualifications and labour-market requirements.
