Electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Electricity generation from coal was 4.75 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka, 2011–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 4.75 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from coal in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.3% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka peaked at 6.36 terawatt-hours in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.04 terawatt-hours, in 2011.
Sri Lanka ranks 41st of 211 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.04 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2012 | 1.4 terawatt-hours | +34.6% |
| 2013 | 1.47 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 3.2 terawatt-hours | +117.7% |
| 2015 | 4.46 terawatt-hours | +39.4% |
| 2016 | 5.07 terawatt-hours | +13.7% |
| 2017 | 5.12 terawatt-hours | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 5.3 terawatt-hours | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 5.92 terawatt-hours | +11.7% |
| 2020 | 6.36 terawatt-hours | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 6.11 terawatt-hours | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 5.73 terawatt-hours | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 5.15 terawatt-hours | -10.1% |
| 2024 | 5.61 terawatt-hours | +8.9% |
| 2025 | 4.75 terawatt-hours | -15.3% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4.75 terawatt-hours is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.005 terawatt-hours, 950.0× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4.75 terawatt-hours is above the median for South Asia, which is 2.38 terawatt-hours, 2.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +117.7% | 1.47 terawatt-hours | 3.2 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.66 terawatt-hours | 1.04 terawatt-hours | 5.92 terawatt-hours | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.62 terawatt-hours | 4.75 terawatt-hours | 6.36 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More energy & mining data for Sri Lanka
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 4.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 21.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka?
- Electricity generation from coal in Sri Lanka was 4.75 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from coal recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 6.36 terawatt-hours in 2020.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from coal recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.04 terawatt-hours in 2011.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for electricity generation from coal?
- Sri Lanka ranks 41st out of 211 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from coal rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.