In 2024, fossil fuels supplied about 61% of Myanmar (Burma)’s electricity, while low-carbon sources provided the remaining 39%. Gas dominated the electricity mix, supplying just over half, with coal contributing roughly another tenth. Clean electricity came overwhelmingly from hydropower, which accounted for about 38% of total electricity consumption, while low-carbon biofuels supplied about 1%. This leaves Myanmar heavily dependent on fossil fuels, whose use contributes to climate change and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Myanmar (Burma)?

Electricity consumption per person is not currently growing: it reached 464 kWh in 2024, slightly below the 2023 record of 475 kWh—a decline of roughly 10 kWh per person. The low-carbon trend is more concerning. Clean electricity generation reached 182 kWh per person, compared with its 2018 peak of 270 kWh, a drop of 88 kWh, or about a third. Reversing these declines would help Myanmar meet existing electricity needs and future demand from electrification and growing digital infrastructure.

Suggestions

Myanmar can increase clean electricity generation by expanding solar alongside its established hydropower base and considering nuclear power as a longer-term source of dependable low-carbon electricity. Nearby regional examples are particularly useful: Pakistan generates almost a quarter of its electricity from solar and 13% from nuclear, while Sri Lanka obtains 15% from solar. Myanmar could learn from these examples when developing rooftop solar, larger solar installations, and the grid infrastructure needed to deliver their output. For nuclear development, South Korea, which generates a quarter of its electricity from nuclear, offers another relevant Asian example, while France demonstrates how nuclear can supply about two-thirds. These examples support a strategy combining rapid solar expansion with long-term nuclear planning, investment, and workforce development.

History

The supplied history of Myanmar’s low-carbon electricity is dominated by hydropower. After a decline of 0.7 TWh in 1998, generation increased repeatedly during the 2000s, including gains of 0.9 TWh in 2000 and 1.2 TWh in 2009. Expansion continued through much of the 2010s, with particularly strong increases of 2.4 TWh in 2011, 2.8 TWh in 2017, and 1.5 TWh in 2018. That progress was sharply reversed by losses of 3.6 TWh in 2019 and 1.7 TWh in 2020. Modest gains in 2021 and 2023, interrupted by another decline in 2022, did not recover those losses. This disappointing reversal underscores the importance of restoring clean electricity growth and diversifying generation through solar and, over the longer term, nuclear power.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade