MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka has ranked 19, behind India, but ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh in an index covering 56 nations, according to findings by a think tank published with the at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in Antigua.
Sri Lanka had scored 49.9 point out of 100. Bangladesh is 21st with 48.7 while Pakistan is 24th with 46.4 points in the index, compiled the Ayre Think Tank. The organization was founded by Calvin Ayre, a Canadian national.
Sri Lanka remains below the study’s readiness benchmark of 53, reached by only 15 countries, the think tank said.
India was at number 11 with 60.6 points.
Singapore was on top with 77.6 index points, Malta second with 75, Australia third with 71, UK fourth with 70.8 and Canada fifth with 70.2.
"Sri Lanka’s comparatively strong position reflects connectivity and broader institutional foundations," the think tank said.
"The country scores 8.1 out of 10 for meaningful access to technology, suggesting that it is better placed than many Commonwealth members to provide the internet connections and basic infrastructure needed to take advantage of AI."
The researchers said there limitation in what is known about young Sri Lankans' AI skills.
The Index's digital capability measure relied on a survey of general AI awareness, while its AI-use findings draw on the activity of people already using one AI assistant, rather than a representative survey of young Sri Lankans.-
The findings therefore do not establish how widely young people are using AI for education, employment or business, the statement said.
Sri Lanka has about 4.8 million young people aged 15 to 29. Using estimates developed by the International Monetary Fund, researchers calculated that AI could add about 1.6 billion dollars to the economy after ten years.
It could be as low as 762 million dollars, or as high as 2.4 million dollars. (Colombo/Nov05/2026)