2025 in Myanmar: The Year in Review

There have been no easy years for Myanmar since the 2021 coup, but 2025 was a particularly bitter one for supporters of the anti-regime resistance. Under pressure from Beijing, ethnic armed groups were forced to hand back key towns, reversing hard-won gains and emboldening the junta to press ahead with a year-end sham election from which all genuine democratic opposition has been excluded.

Internationally, if Myanmar made headlines it was as much for Karen State’s scam centers as for its ongoing civil war, while the US showed little interest in the country and all but abandoned its historic role as a champion of democracy. Meanwhile, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners continued to languish in junta cells, even as a few bright spots emerged in ASEAN diplomacy and the Arakan Army’s continued refusal to cede ground in Rakhine State. Below is a roundup of the key players and issues that dominated The Irrawaddy’s coverage of events in 2025.