Myanmar

Myanmar is a lower-middle income economy according to the World Bank, and a UN-designated Least Developed Country. Its 2023 GDP of $66 billion accounts for 1.8% of the regional GDP of Southeast Asia. With a population of 54 million, Myanmar’s GDP per capita is $1,233, the lowest in the region.

From 2015 to 2023, 18,483 aid and development projects were implemented in Myanmar by 77 development partners, totalling $23.4 billion in official development finance (ODF).

Key trends

ODF disbursements including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance to Myanmar have decreased over time. A 2020 peak in spending of over $4 billion has dropped by more than half to a post-Covid (2021–23) average of $1.6 billion annually. Disbursements have reached unprecedented lows since the February 2021 coup when the military regime seized power and many donors ceased operations.

ODF has fluctuated relative to Myanmar’s economy, growing from 4.4% in 2015 to 5.4% in 2020 and dropping back to 2.2% in 2023. Myanmar’s 2023 ODF to GDP ratio is the fourth-highest in the region. Grants make up the lion’s share of Myanmar’s ODF at 57%, while 27% is delivered as concessional loans and 16% as non-concessional loans.

Looking ahead, new commitments to Myanmar have been highly variable but rebounded in 2023 to the second-highest level since 2015.

Development partners

Japan is Myanmar’s primary development partner, accounting for almost one-quarter of its total ODF received since 2015 and higher in recent years. China, the United States, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) together comprise just under an additional third of Myanmar’s ODF over the data period.

Japan’s contribution has averaged around $620 million annually, with a major surge in 2020 for pandemic support. But in 2021, it dropped by almost two-thirds, and since the coup has hovered around $415 million per year. Japan continues to disburse funds for infrastructure projects in Myanmar in the transport and storage and energy sectors, despite the access challenges that have prevented other partners. Japan’s support is provided entirely through official development assistance, increasingly via concessional loans rather than grants.

By contrast, most of China’s support, averaging $340 million per year, is delivered through non-concessional loans. China’s activities in Myanmar are difficult to assess because of a lack of transparency, meaning the Southeast Asia Aid Map may underestimate China’s engagement. Our data show China has continued to commit to large infrastructure projects but has struggled to implement due to logistical challenges in conflict zones, resulting in an implementation rate of just 13% since 2015. In 2023, China spent 0.3% of its 2015 spend, confined exclusively to the humanitarian aid sector.

The United States has a much higher implementation rate in Myanmar (85%), likely because of its low commitments in the infrastructure sector. The United States favours the humanitarian aid, government and civil society, and health sectors. Prior to 2021, 94% of this support was provided through grants, but the ratio increased to 100% after the coup when the United States ceased lending to the government. In 2023, the United States disbursed its highest spend in Myanmar since before 2015.

The multilateral development banks, the ADB, and the World Bank have played a major role in Myanmar’s ODF landscape to date, together responsible for 12% of disbursements from 2015–23. However, their contributions have diminished recently. The World Bank recorded zero disbursements in Myanmar in 2023, and the ADB’s 2023 spend, mostly in the health sector, was equivalent to just 6% of its 2019 disbursement.

Sectors

The government and civil society sector receives the most ODF in Myanmar, with a proportion of total ODF received slightly higher than the regional average. After general budget support operations, the most popular sub-sectors are assistance for civilian peace-building activities and suport for democratic participation and civil society.

Myanmar stands out for the high proportion of ODF directed to humanitarian aid, health, communications, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Focus on those sectors is typical of the region’s lowest-income economies. The amount spent on humanitarian aid in Myanmar is almost four times the regional average, indicating partners’ reactivity to the ongoing violence.

Myanmar receives lower proportions of ODF in the water and sanitation, transport and storage, energy, and banking and financial services sectors. The low level of disbursement in the transport and storage sector belies a very high volume of commitments, with $20 billion yet to be disbursed.

Policy goals

The Southeast Asia Aid Map tracks ODF with integrated policy goals across three policy domains or cross-cutting themes (as distinct from sectors): climate action, gender equality, and disability inclusion.

Over 2015–23, Myanmar received more than the regional average for ODF integrating gender equality (33%). However, it received slightly less than the regional average for ODF targeting disability inclusion (8%) and climate action (23%).

Provision of intra-regional ODF

Myanmar provides the lowest volume of intra-regional ODF in Southeast Asia, averaging $84,000 annually. Since 2015, it has provided intra-regional ODF only on a multilateral basis to regional programs rather than bilaterally. Myanmar is the second-largest recipient of support from its neighbours, behind only Laos. Thailand is the largest provider of intra-regional aid to Myanmar, exclusively through grants.