Harness the power of Outsourcing

Why Sri Lanka?

About Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island situated at the southern tip of India between 6° and 10° north and 80° and 82° east. The country is separated from India by the Palk Straits, 32km wide at its narrowest. Sri Lanka measures 435 km north to south & 224 km east to west, covering a total area of 65,610 sq.km.

The island's strategic location in the Indian Ocean on the major air & sea routes between Europe & the Far East gives it an advantage as a global logistics hub.

IT industry in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is becoming a fast developing destination for outsourcing service provider to a host of companies based in countries from Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. Sri Lanka is expanding its pool of skilled graduates in computer programming and software engineering. The national university curriculum in computer studies is ranked amongst the best, the Government of Sri Lanka actively encourage computer literacy by providing duty concessions on all hardware imports.

The country's competitive advantage and advanced infrastructure facilities have also contributed to the growth of offshore back office operations and development units which have thrived since the early1980s. Sri Lanka also serves as the headquarters for one of the world's largest software development companies in South East Asia.

Software development is carried out with the most advanced programming languages. This is complemented by modern data transmission and telecommunication systems. Value-added services including radio paging, web masters, and cellular network and data communications service providers have already taken advantages of the country's liberalized economic environment.

HR in Sri Lanka

The key to any successful business is its workforce. Sri Lanka's labour is reputed for precision, quality of its work and its productivity. English is widely understood and spoken throughout the island and World Bank reports have indicated that Sri Lanka has one of the-highest literacy rate (92%) among designated low-income countries.

Of a population of 19.2 million. the total workforce is approximately 6.7 mn. The population growth rate averages 1.2% per annum. ensuring a steady pool of manpower resources for both existing and new industries.

The government provides free education from kindergarten to university. Sri Lanka is also ranked high on the Human Development Index and compares well with developed countries.

Human Development Indices

Country or Group HDI Value
Countries with high human development 0.908
Sri Lanka 0.730
World (Average) 0.722
Countries with medium human development 0.691
Developing Countries 0.655
South Asia 0.582
 Source : UNDP (2003) Human Development Report

The Competitive advantage of Sri Lanka's workforce

- A Solid mathematical background that translates into a solutions driven approach to   software development
- High productivity, creativity, hand to eye coordination, proven precision and   manualdexterity.

Indicative labour costs

Category Monthly Wages
Rates (US$)
Systems Managers 1200 - 1500
Systems Analysts / Engineers 700 - 1200
Systems Operators / Hardware Engineers 700 - 1000
Programmers 250 - 500
Computer Operators 100 - 250
Data Entry Operators 100 - 200
Trainees 70 - 150
 Source Board of Investment (BOI) Sri Lanka

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