Economics & Finance
SLEFO
Sri Lanka Economics and Finance Olympiad
Sri Lanka's national olympiad in economics and finance, and the route to the International Economics Olympiad for students under 20.
- Founded
- 2020
- Selects for
- IEO
- Age limit
- Under 20
- Entry fee
- Free
The olympiad
SLEFO is the national economics olympiad. School students under 20 sit it for a place on the Sri Lankan team at the International Economics Olympiad, which is the world championship in economics and business for high schoolers.
The paper does not reward memorised definitions. Students have to reason about incentives, read data carefully, work out what something is actually worth, and defend a position with the clock running. Those are the things economists spend their careers doing.
Sri Lanka has entered a team every year since 2020, and our students have come home with both silver and bronze. The next team travels to the IEO in Tokyo in August 2027.
Who can enter
- Sri Lankan school students under the age of 20
- Not yet enrolled in a university degree programme
- Open to every stream, with no economics coursework required
What it covers
- Microeconomics & market design
- Macroeconomics & policy
- Financial literacy
- Valuation & instruments
- Business case analysis
- Data interpretation
The path
How SLEFO runs
3 competition rounds, each one cutting the field down further.
- 01
Preliminary Round
OnlineAn online paper open to everyone who registers, covering economic reasoning and financial literacy.
- 02
Semi Final
OnlineA harder online paper for those who get through the preliminary, with more quantitative work and longer problems.
- 03
Final
OnsiteSat in person. The five highest scorers here become the Sri Lankan team for the IEO.
After the competition rounds
What happens after the final round, on the way to the IEO.
Training
The selected team works through micro and macro theory, financial instruments and business case method before travelling.
Team Sri Lanka at the IEO
Five students represent Sri Lanka at the International Economics Olympiad across three parts: economics, financial literacy and a business case. The 2027 edition is in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2027.
Questions
SLEFO, answered
The things students and teachers ask us most often.
- Who can enter SLEFO?
- Any school student in Sri Lanka who is under 20 and has not yet enrolled in a university degree programme. Every stream is welcome and no economics coursework is required.
- Does it cost anything to enter SLEFO?
- No. SLEFO is free to enter. There is no registration fee, no exam fee and nothing to buy.
- How many rounds does SLEFO have?
- Three competition rounds: an online Preliminary Round, an online Semi Final, and a Final sat in person. The five highest scorers in the Final become the Sri Lankan team for the International Economics Olympiad.
- What does the SLEFO paper cover?
- Economic reasoning, quantitative analysis and financial literacy. The paper rewards working things out rather than reciting definitions, so students regularly qualify without having studied economics at school.
- What happens after I am selected for the team?
- The team trains in micro and macro theory, financial instruments and business case method, then competes at the International Economics Olympiad across three parts: economics, financial literacy and a business case.
- How has Sri Lanka performed at the International Economics Olympiad?
- Sri Lanka has entered a team every year since 2020, across seven editions, and has won 9 medals in total: 1 silver and 8 bronze.
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