Energy mapping shows wide gaps in electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa
A new mapping report sets Africa’s energy resources alongside the latest electricity-access estimates, which put the number without power in sub-Saharan Africa at more than 560 million.
Al Jazeera published a map of Africa’s energy resources and electricity access on 13 October, during African Energy Week in Cape Town. It reports that more than 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity, a rounded estimate also reported by the agencies tracking the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7. The map shows a gap between the continent’s resources and household access, rather than a change in access on publication day.
How electricity access varies across countries
Using figures it identifies as 2024 data, Al Jazeera puts electricity access at 5.4% in South Sudan, 15.6% in Malawi, 22.5% in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 62.5% in Nigeria. It estimates that roughly 85 million people in Nigeria lack access. The outlet also reports that all electricity generated in the DRC came from renewables; that generation mix does not show how many homes can use electricity.
The joint SDG 7 release says 655 million people worldwide lacked electricity in 2024. In rural sub-Saharan Africa, it says the number without access rose from 376 million in 2010 to 447 million in 2024, and estimates that progress must triple to achieve universal access by 2030.
Sources and context
- Mapping Africa’s energy wealth and 560 million who remain without powerAl Jazeera
- 655 million people still living without electricity underscore urgent need to deliver on universal energy access targetWorld Health Organization (joint release of SDG 7 custodian agencies)
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