Electricity generation from fossil fuels in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Electricity generation from fossil fuels was 6.62 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation from fossil fuels in Sri Lanka, 2000–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 6.62 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from fossil fuels in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.4% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from fossil fuels in Sri Lanka peaked at 11.04 terawatt-hours in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.55 terawatt-hours, in 2001.
That places Sri Lanka 82nd out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Electricity generation from fossil fuels in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.57 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 3.55 terawatt-hours | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 4.24 terawatt-hours | +19.4% |
| 2003 | 4.31 terawatt-hours | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 5.12 terawatt-hours | +18.8% |
| 2005 | 5.35 terawatt-hours | +4.5% |
| 2006 | 4.79 terawatt-hours | -10.5% |
| 2007 | 5.91 terawatt-hours | +23.4% |
| 2008 | 5.76 terawatt-hours | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 5.97 terawatt-hours | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 4.99 terawatt-hours | -16.4% |
| 2011 | 6.79 terawatt-hours | +36.1% |
| 2012 | 8.33 terawatt-hours | +22.7% |
| 2013 | 4.77 terawatt-hours | -42.7% |
| 2014 | 7.55 terawatt-hours | +58.3% |
| 2015 | 6.77 terawatt-hours | -10.3% |
| 2016 | 9.59 terawatt-hours | +41.7% |
| 2017 | 10.27 terawatt-hours | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 9.02 terawatt-hours | -12.2% |
| 2019 | 11.04 terawatt-hours | +22.4% |
| 2020 | 10.63 terawatt-hours | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 8.86 terawatt-hours | -16.7% |
| 2022 | 8.32 terawatt-hours | -6.1% |
| 2023 | 8.43 terawatt-hours | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 7.64 terawatt-hours | -9.4% |
| 2025 | 6.62 terawatt-hours | -13.4% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 6.62 terawatt-hours is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.15 terawatt-hours, 81% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 6.62 terawatt-hours is above the median for South Asia, which is 3.71 terawatt-hours, 1.8× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.86 terawatt-hours | 3.55 terawatt-hours | 5.97 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.91 terawatt-hours | 4.77 terawatt-hours | 11.04 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.42 terawatt-hours | 6.62 terawatt-hours | 10.63 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 fossil fuels in Sri Lanka?
- Electricity generation from fossil fuels in Sri Lanka was 6.62 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 fossil fuels recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 11.04 terawatt-hours in 2019.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from fossil fuels recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.55 terawatt-hours in 2001.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for electricity generation from fossil fuels?
- Sri Lanka ranks 82nd out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from fossil fuels rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. 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 fossil fuels. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Electricity generation from coal, oil, and gas, measured in terawatt-hours.