From June 2025 through May 2026, about two-thirds of Bolivia’s electricity came from fossil fuels, entirely natural gas. Low-carbon sources supplied almost a third of electricity: hydropower contributed around 26%, solar 3%, wind just over 2%, and biofuels about 1%. Bolivia therefore remains heavily dependent on fossil electricity, with substantial room to expand clean generation and reduce the climate impacts and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Bolivia?

Bolivia’s latest electricity figures are below their historical peaks rather than setting new records. Electricity consumption in 2026 stood at about 950 kWh per person, compared with nearly 1,000 kWh per person in 2024—a decline of roughly 5%. Low-carbon electricity generation fell more sharply, from 379 kWh per person in 2024 to 309 kWh per person, a drop of 70 kWh, or about 18%. These figures do not establish whether consumption fell compared with the immediately preceding year, but the retreat from record levels is concerning: Bolivia needs growing clean electricity supplies to support electrification and future demand.

Suggestions

Bolivia could accelerate solar deployment, expand wind generation, and consider nuclear power as part of a long-term low-carbon electricity strategy. Nearby Chile provides a particularly relevant solar example, generating about 24% of its electricity from solar, while Uruguay obtains roughly a third from wind. These regional examples offer useful lessons for project development and grid integration. Nuclear generation also deserves consideration: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, while smaller electricity systems such as Armenia obtain almost 30% from it. Bolivia could study these experiences, develop technical expertise and international partnerships, and strengthen its grid to support a larger, more diverse clean electricity supply.

History

The supplied history shows that changes in Bolivia’s low-carbon electricity generation have been dominated by hydropower. The listed changes in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s were generally modest, with individual increases or decreases of about 0.2 TWh. Hydropower became more variable in the mid-2010s: declines of 0.3 TWh in 2014 and 0.7 TWh in 2016 were followed by three consecutive gains totaling 1.5 TWh from 2017 through 2019. The 2020s brought further fluctuations, alongside a welcome 0.3 TWh wind increase in 2022 and a 0.5 TWh hydropower increase in 2024. The latest listed changes—a 0.3 TWh biofuel decline in 2025 and a 0.3 TWh hydropower decline in 2026—underline the need to restore sustained growth in clean electricity, particularly through additional solar, wind and consideration of nuclear generation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

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