Sri Lanka AI adoption remains among the lowest in the world, with only 6.2 percent diffusion, raising concerns over its ambition to become a regional artificial intelligence hub.
Sri Lanka AI adoption lags behind regional and global standards despite hub ambitions
Sri Lanka AI adoption continues to trail behind global and regional counterparts, according to the November 2025 AI Diffusion Report by the Microsoft AI Economy Institute. The report shows that Sri Lanka’s AI diffusion rate stands at just 6.2 percent, placing the country in the lowest tier among more than 100 surveyed economies. This slow progress stands in sharp contrast to the government’s goal of positioning Sri Lanka as an AI innovation hub in South Asia.
Globally, AI adoption averages 23 percent in developed countries, while the Global South records an average of 13 percent. Sri Lanka AI adoption is significantly below this threshold and falls behind regional peers such as India at 14.2 percent, Nepal at 12.3 percent, Pakistan at 9.7 percent, and Bangladesh at 6.5 percent. In comparison, leaders like the United Arab Emirates and Singapore report adoption rates above 58 percent, demonstrating how strong digital infrastructure and coordinated policy can accelerate AI integration.
The report highlights a core challenge: the gap between Sri Lanka AI adoption and its strategic ambitions. The country has announced plans for a national AI strategy focusing on skills development, investment attraction and technological innovation. However, the Microsoft report suggests that foundational elements such as robust digital infrastructure, reliable electricity, high-speed internet and strong digital literacy must be in place for these goals to be achieved.
AI is expanding rapidly worldwide, with over 1.2 billion users globally, but its benefits are not evenly distributed. Nearly half of the world’s population still lacks the essential infrastructure needed to use AI technologies. The report identifies language as a major barrier to inclusive AI growth. Countries where low-resource languages dominate face slower adoption rates due to limited training data for AI models. In Sri Lanka, Sinhala has traditionally been underrepresented in AI development, which has limited accessibility for local users and businesses.
Encouragingly, progress is being made to bridge the language divide. Researchers at the University of Moratuwa recently introduced SinLlama, the first open-source AI model tailored for Sinhala, adapted from Meta’s Llama-3. Local firms such as Sigiri.AI are also investing in AI tools that support indigenous languages. These initiatives mark important steps toward improving Sri Lanka AI adoption and making artificial intelligence more relevant to its population.
Despite this progress, the report emphasizes that Sri Lanka must urgently invest in digital infrastructure, modern data centers and widespread internet access to accelerate AI adoption. Without addressing these structural challenges, the nation risks falling further behind regional competitors such as Vietnam and the Philippines, which are rapidly advancing in digital transformation and attracting technology investments.
Sri Lanka AI adoption is not just a technological issue but a crucial economic priority. Strengthening digital foundations, improving skills and fostering innovation will be essential if Sri Lanka hopes to turn its AI hub vision into a viable reality.