Where we stand, how Budget 2026 funds progress and what next

Sri Lanka has reached a policy inflection point. Its 2026 national Budget Spon foregrounds digitalisation as a strategic lever for growth, public-service efficiency and jobs creation and it arrives against a mixed baseline widespread familiarity with mobile internet however persistently low formal computer skills.

- BY MILINDA MAYADUNNA

The challenge ahead is straightforward on paper but fiendishly hard in practice: turn headline allocations and national strategies into enduring, equitable improvements in computer and digital literacy for the next generation.

National statistics show a split personality in Sri Lanka's digital profile. On the one hand, broad digital literacy, the ability to use mobile phones and basic online services, is relatively high, roughly two out of three Sri Lankans demonstrate some form of digital literacy. On the other, formal computer literacy (the set of skills associated with using a personal computer: typing, file management, word processing, spreadsheets and basic software use) remains low. The Department of Census and Statistics reported an overall computerliteracy rate of 35.9% in 2024, down 3.1 percentage points from 2023, and with marked urban-rural disparities (urban 47.3%, rural and estate areas significantly lower). That gap matters because many mid-level and highervalue jobs still require computer competence rather than only smartphone fluency.

The government's 2026 Budget, delivered on 07 November, 2025, places digital transformation high on the policy agenda. The finance documents, Budget speech and related analyses reveal three complementary strands. Large capital lines for national digital infrastructure and platforms. Media reporting and government material point to a multi-billionrupee commitment to build backbone systems: a national digital identity, a government data exchange architecture, and sectoral digital platforms. Public reporting has placed the headline figure for the digital economy allocation in the range of Rs. 25.5-35.6 billion, used for multiple projects across Ministries.