The Higher Education Ministry of Sri Lanka has released the latest university statistics for the 2023 academic year, revealing significant trends in enrollment, gender distribution, and field preferences among undergraduates.
Key Highlights from the 2023 University Statistics:
- Increased Enrollment – Over 40,000 students gained admission to state universities in 2023, marking a 5% rise compared to 2022. The University of Colombo, University of Peradeniya, and University of Moratuwa remained the top choices for students.
- Gender Parity Improves – Female students constituted 58% of total enrollments, continuing a decade-long trend of higher female participation in higher education.
- Most Popular Degrees –
- Medicine & Engineering remained highly competitive, with over 15,000 applicants for limited seats.
- IT & Computer Science saw a 20% surge in enrollment, reflecting growing demand for tech-related careers.
- Arts & Humanities also recorded steady numbers, with many students opting for multidisciplinary programs.
- Challenges in Graduate Employment – Despite higher enrollment, concerns persist over graduate employability, with only 60% securing jobs within a year of completing their degrees
| Chapter – 1 – General Information | |||||||||||||
| Sri Lanka Map: | Location of Universities | 1 | |||||||||||
| Table 01-01 | Educational Indicators 2005 – 2023 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Table 01-02 | Strength and Finance of University Sector | 4 | |||||||||||
| Table 01-03 | Departments and Faculties of the Higher Educational Institutions – 2023 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 2 – University Admissions | |||||||||||||
| Table 02-01 | Number of Candidates Qualifying and Selected to Undergraduate Courses of the Higher Educational Institutions : Academic Years 2019/2020 – 2022/2023 | 19 | |||||||||||
| Table 02-02 | Undergraduates Admissions by Academic Programme and Gender(Academic Year 2022/2023) | 22 | |||||||||||
| Table 02-03 | Undergraduate Admissions By District (Academic Year 2022/2023) | 26 | |||||||||||
| Table 02-04 | Undergraduate Admissions by Academic Programme and Admission Policy (Academic Year 2022/2023) | 34 | |||||||||||
| Table 02-05 | Undergraduate Admissions by Academic Programme, Higher Educational Institution and Ethnicity (Academic Year 2022/2023) | 37 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 3 – Student Enrolment | |||||||||||||
| Table 03-01(a) | Detailed Undergraduates Enrolment of Higher Educational Institutions 2023 – UGC Intake | 43 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-01(b) | Detailed Undergraduates Enrolment of Higher Educational Institutions 2022 – Other Intake | 63 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-02 | Undergraduates Enrolment by Academic Programme and Higher Educational Institution : 2021-2023 | 67 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-03(a) | Postgraduate Student Enrolment of Higher Educational Institutions by Academic Programme – 2023 (Local Students) | 71 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-03(b) | Postgraduate Student Enrolment of Higher Educational Institutions by Academic Programme – 2023 (Foreign Students) | 78 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-04 (a) | Student Enrolment of the Open University by Academic Programme, Level on roll and Gender – 2023 (Certificate and Diploma Programmes) | 80 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-04 (b) | Student Enrolment of the Open University by Academic Programme, Level on roll and Gender – 2023 (Bachelor Degree Programmes) | 81 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-04 (c) | Student Enrolment of the Open University by Academic Programme, Level on roll and Gender – 2023 (Postgraduate Degree Programmes) | 82 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-05 (a) | New Registrations and Enrolment of University of Colombo, Institute of Agro-Technology and Rural Sciences – 2021 -2023 | 83 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-05 (b) | New Registrations and Enrolment and Output of the Institute of Technology University of Moratuwa – 2021 – 2023 | 84 | |||||||||||
| Table 03-06 | New Registrations and Enrolment of External Degree Programmes by Higher Educational Institution – 2023 | 85 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 4 – Graduate Output | |||||||||||||
| Table 04-01 | Graduate Output by Higher Educational Institution and Major Academic Programme – 2022 – 2023 | 88 | |||||||||||
| Table 04-02 | Postgraduates Output by Higher Educational Institutions and Academic Programme – 2023 | 92 | |||||||||||
| Table 04-03 | Student Output of the Open University by Academic Programme | 100 | |||||||||||
| Table 04-04 | Graduate Output of External Degree Programmes by Higher Educational Institution – 2023 | 101 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 5 – Staff | |||||||||||||
| Table 05-01 | Distribution of Teaching Staff in Higher Educational Institutions according to Staff Category, Gender and Faculty – 2023 | 105 | |||||||||||
| Table 05-02 | Distribution of Other Staff in Higher Educational Institutions – 2023 | 110 | |||||||||||
| Table 05-03 (a) | Distribution of Teaching Staff in Higher Education Institutions according to Educational Qualification and University/HEI – 2023 | 114 | |||||||||||
| Table 05-03 (b) | Distribution of Teaching Staff in Higher Educational Institutions according to Educational Qualification and Faculty/Major Academic Stream – 2023 | 115 | |||||||||||
| Table 05-04 (a) | Distribution of Teaching Staff in Higher Educational Institutions according to the Age Group and University/HEI – 2023 | 116 | |||||||||||
| Table 05-04 (b) | Distribution of Teaching Staff in Higher Educational Institutions according to the Age Group and Faculty/ Academic Stream – 2023 | 117 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 6 – Finance | |||||||||||||
| Table 06-01 | Expenditure on Education : 2016 – 2023 | 120 | |||||||||||
| Table 06-02 | Income of Higher Educational Institutions : 2021 – 2023 | 121 | |||||||||||
| Table 06-03 | Recurrent Expenditure of Higher Educational Institution by Major Programme : 2021 – 2023 | 126 | |||||||||||
| Table 06-04 | Recurrent Expenditure on Academic Services by University : 2021 – 2023 | 130 | |||||||||||
| Table 06-05 | Capital Expenditure of Higher Educational Institutions : 2021 -2023 | 134 | |||||||||||
| Chapter – 7 – Welfare Facilities | |||||||||||||
| Table 07-01 | Hostel Facilities available in Higher Educational Institutions : 2023 | 139 | |||||||||||
| Table 07-02 | Mahapola and Bursary Recipients of Higher Educational Institutions by Faculty : 2023 | 140 | |||||||||||
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