Myanmar is a lower-middle income economy according to the World Bank, and a UN-designated Least Developed Country. Its 2024 GDP of $74 billion accounts for 1.9% of the regional GDP of Southeast Asia. With a population of 55 million, Myanmar’s GDP per capita is $1,359, the second-lowest in the region.
From 2015 to 2024, 20,179 aid and development projects were implemented in Myanmar by 80 development partners, totalling $25.5 billion in official development finance (ODF).
Key trends
ODF disbursements including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance to Myanmar have decreased over time, other than a 2020 peak in spending of $4.3 billion due to pandemic support. This trend continued in 2024, with ODF spending decreasing by 2% to $1.5 billion.
Relative to Myanmar’s economy, ODF has fluctuated from 4.5% of GDP in 2015 to a high of 5.4% in 2020 and a low of 2% in 2024. Myanmar’s 2024 ODF to GDP ratio is the fourth-highest in the region. Most of Myanmar’s ODF is delivered as grants (57%), followed by concessional loans (26%) and non-concessional loans (17%).
New commitments to Myanmar fluctuated over the reporting period, and declined in 2024 to the second-lowest level since 2015.
- Spent
- Committed
Development partners
Japan is Myanmar’s primary development partner, accounting for 24% of its total ODF since 2015, followed by China at 13%. The United States, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the United Kingdom combined account for another quarter of total ODF to Myanmar.
Japan’s support averaged $627 million per year pre-pandemic, peaking in 2020, and has averaged $412.7 million per year since the 2021 coup. Its ODF to Myanmar is delivered through concessional loans (64%) and grants (36%). Transport and storage accounted for 64% of its 2024 ODF, followed by energy (13%) and humanitarian aid (10%).
China has provided an average of $322.6 million per year in ODF to Myanmar, delivered primarily through non-concessional loans (90%). Since 2015, its support has focused on industry, mining, and construction (41%), with secondary-level support to agriculture, forestry, and fishing (28%). In 2024, however, support for the energy and government and civil society sectors fell sharply while health took 34%, driven by funding for the Myanmar National Centre for Disease Control and its associated medical training centre. A lack of transparency makes China’s activities difficult to assess, meaning the Southeast Asia Aid Map may underestimate its engagement.
The United States’ ODF to Myanmar rose from $146.5 million in 2015 to a record $245.6 million in 2024, and its share grew from 6% to 16% of total ODF to the country over the same period. Before the 2021 coup, it disbursed ODF as both grants (93%) and non-concessional loans (7%), but has provided assistance exclusively as grants since 2022. Its support targets humanitarian aid, government and civil society, and health.
The ADB and the World Bank together provided about 12% of Myanmar’s total ODF from 2015 to 2024, but support from both has fallen since 2020. The World Bank dropped from $352.8 million in 2020 to zero disbursements in 2023 and 2024. The ADB disbursed just $788,000 in 2024, down 94% on 2023 and 99.7% on 2019.
Sectors
The government and civil society sector has received the most ODF over the reporting period, at 16% of Myanmar’s total, just below the regional average of 17%.
Myanmar stands out in the region for the proportion of its ODF focused on humanitarian aid, health, communications, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing. It receives lower proportions than the regional average for water and sanitation, transport and storage, general environmental protection, and banking and financial services. Despite large commitments to its transport and storage sector ($15.3 billion since 2015), only a fraction ($2.8 billion) has been disbursed.
- Myanmar
- Regional average
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 2015–24, 22% of Myanmar’s ODF was directed to climate action and 7% to disability inclusion, both below the regional average. Its share targeting gender equality was above the regional average, at 33%.
Provision of intra-regional ODF
Myanmar is the smallest provider of intra-regional ODF, averaging $86,720 annually since 2015. Its contributions have gone exclusively to regional initiatives supporting government and civil society and humanitarian aid projects. Myanmar is the second-largest recipient of support from the region, largely from Thailand.