MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN CRISES
Decades of conflicts have been the key driver of humanitarian needs in Myanmar. The armed conflict, violence against civilians, and, subsequently, humanitarian conditions have significantly worsened after the military coup in February 2021. Prior to the coup, around one million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance. In 2024 this number rose to 18.6 million.
COUNTRY-LEVEL CRISIS
The INFORM Severity Index and its dimensions
The INFORM Severity Index score of the country-level crisis of Myanmar has followed a rising trend, increasing from 3.5 in January 2021 to 4.6 in May 2023, until now.
The score increase represents the heightening humanitarian needs in the country, especially in the aftermath of the coup.
The score is mostly correlated with the impact of the crisis dimension’s score, followed by conditions of people affected and complexity dimensions’ scores.
Note: the country-level crisis for Myanmar is called multiple crises in Myanmar in the INFORM Severity Index, which is an aggregated crisis that collectively represents the crises within a country.
COUNTRY-LEVEL CRISIS: DIMENSION
Impact of the crisis
The landmass affected by the country-level crisis significantly increased when the post-coup conflict crisis was opened in June 2021, which ultimately affected the entire country.
Also, since January 2023, the entire population is considered to be affected by the country-level crisis.
Because of the multiple conflicts and violence, the displaced population increased by around 3.5 times from January 2021 to January 2025, reaching a figure of nearly five million.
Armed conflict and violence since the coup have resulted in significant levels of fatalities for the crisis, with the highest number of fatalities occurring in late 2021 and 2022.
COUNTRY-LEVEL CRISIS: DIMENSION
CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE AFFECTED
Humanitarian needs across all sectors have significantly risen since the coup. Intense armed conflict and violence, political instability, economic shocks, and humanitarian access constraints have been heightening humanitarian needs directly and through other channels.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has been increasing every year.
Myanmar soldiers patrol the street during a demonstration against the military coup outside the Central Bank in Yangon, Myanmar on February 15, 2021. (Photo via Getty Images)
The post-coup conflict crisis in Myanmar
had the most influence on the changes in the country-level crisis’ INFORM Severity Index score among all individual crises, as it had the highest number of people in need, affected the highest number of people and the largest landmass, caused the highest levels of fatalities and displacements, and had the highest levels of humanitarian access constraints among all the crises.
The INFORM Severity Index score of the post-coup conflict crisis has followed an increasing trend, more than doubling from 2.1 in June 2021 to 4.6 in April 2024, maintaining the same score until January 2025.
smaller changes in the INFORM Severity Index
Changes in the numbers of fatalities, IDPs, and people affected, as well as in the humanitarian access situation, contributed to smaller changes in the INFORM Severity Index scores for the conflict crises.
An example of this is the increase in the INFORM Severity Index score of the Rakhine conflict crisis in December 2023. This was preceded by a rise in the number of fatalities after intense armed conflict resumed between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military junta in November 2023 following a year-long ceasefire.
The access situation in Myanmar
has worsened significantly since the coup. The drivers of humanitarian access constraints include many issues, including armed conflict and insecurity, violence against humanitarian personnel and assets, and administrative impediments.
The humanitarian access score for the country-level crisis fluctuated between 4 and 5 (out of a maximum of 5) during the reporting period. The score has been 5 since May 2022.
Considerations for trends analysis of the INFORM Severity Index data
While some core indicators can contribute to INFORM Severity Index scores, they might not generate a change in the score in a given month because some of the core indicators have less weight, as per the design of the INFORM Severity Index.
Data from assessments used in the index can be subject to methodological changes, affecting the comparability of figures over time.
Depending on the country, some assessments or sources may have limitations, such as inaccuracies or biases. ACAPS carefully reviews the reliability of the sources used. To learn more about ACAPS’ approach to data collection for the INFORM Severity Index, please see ACAPS’ INFORM Severity Index Data Collection Manual.
ACAPS staff exercises discretion in selecting which available data and information to use to estimate figures or make adjustments for some core indicators when no reliable assessment provides the data needed.
A lack of data could lead to information gaps in the INFORM Severity Index, which, in some cases, can limit the identification and explanation of humanitarian trends.