From June 2025 to May 2026, Bangladesh’s electricity consumption depended heavily on fossil fuels, which supplied about 81% of the total. Gas accounted for roughly 42% and coal for 31%, with other fossil fuels making up the remainder. Net imports supplied another 16%; the data do not identify their generation mix, so they should not be classified as either clean or fossil electricity. Domestic low-carbon generation contributed just over 2%, including about 1.3% from solar and 1% from hydropower. Expanding clean electricity would help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and their associated air pollution and climate impacts.

Is Electricity Growing in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh’s latest electricity consumption remains below its historical peak rather than setting a new record. In 2026, consumption stood at 600 kWh per person, down 49 kWh, or roughly 8%, from the record of 649 kWh in 2022. This shortfall is concerning as electrification and growing digital activity increase the need for electricity. Low-carbon generation, however, reached a modest new high of 14 kWh per person, compared with 13 kWh in 2025. That improvement is welcome, but much faster clean electricity growth is needed.

Suggestions

Bangladesh should prioritize a substantial expansion of solar and nuclear electricity, alongside investment in grids to deliver the additional output. Nearby Pakistan provides a particularly relevant example: solar supplies about 24% of its electricity and nuclear another 13%, showing how both technologies can contribute in a South Asian setting. Sri Lanka, where solar supplies around 15%, offers another regional reference for scaling solar deployment. Bangladesh could expand rooftop and utility-scale solar while developing nuclear generation for substantial, steady clean electricity production. France, with roughly two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, illustrates the scale this technology can achieve, while the United Arab Emirates, at 20%, offers an additional example of nuclear’s contribution.

History

Bangladesh’s low-carbon electricity history has largely been one of fluctuating hydropower output, followed more recently by solar growth. In the 1980s, hydropower recorded several annual increases and decreases of about 0.2 TWh. The 1990s brought a 0.2 TWh increase in 1994, a sharp 0.5 TWh decline in 1995 and a 0.4 TWh recovery in 1996. During the 2000s, smaller gains were interrupted by a substantial 0.6 TWh fall in 2009. Hydropower remained uneven in the 2010s, with gains in 2010 and 2016 offset by declines in 2014 and 2019. More encouragingly, solar generation increased by about 0.3 TWh in each of 2022, 2024 and 2025, while hydropower also added 0.2 TWh in 2024. These recent clean electricity gains provide a foundation for a much larger expansion.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Jun 2025 – May 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.