Africa continues to grapple with some of the world’s most severe electricity access challenges, with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo topping the global rankings for the largest populations without power.
- African nations continue to face significant electricity access shortages, particularly Nigeria and the DRC
- An energy report states that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest electricity deficits globally.
- To achieve universal electricity access by 2030, substantial investment and accelerated electrification measures are required.
New data from the World Bank report titled Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025, shows that a majority of the countries with the highest electricity deficits are in sub-Saharan Africa, further emphasizing the continent’s persistent infrastructure gaps and the urgent need for investment in energy access and grid expansion.
Despite efforts to improve electrification, millions remain in the dark, hindering economic growth, education, and health outcomes.
Electricity deficit in Africa
According to the report, nearly 92% of the world’s population now has basic access to electricity, a notable improvement since 2022, when the number of people without power declined for the first time in a decade.
However, more than 666 million people still lack access, underscoring that current progress is insufficient to meet the goal of universal electrification by 2030.
This challenge is especially pronounced in Africa, where millions of people continue to live without electricity, highlighting persistent regional disparities in energy access.
While electrification efforts have gained momentum across the continent, access remains uneven and deeply constrained in many regions, with some countries even experiencing reversals due to population growth and infrastructure challenges.
“The electricity access challenge is greatest in rural areas, where 84 percent of the world’s people without electricity live.”
“While overall progress in rural electrification was greater than that in urban areas, the gain was largely driven by advancements in Central and Southern Asia, where the number of rural people without access was cut from 383 million in 2010 to just under 25 million in 2023.”
“By contrast, in SubSaharan Africa, rural population growth outstripped electrification efforts, leaving 451 million people in rural areas without electricity in 2023.” the report added
According to the World bank’s Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025, the list below shows the African countries with the most people without electricity.
| Rank | Country | People Without Electricity Access |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 86,860,905 |
| 2 | DRC | 79,633,583 |
| 3 | Ethiopia | 56,400,131 |
| 4 | Tanzania, United Rep. of | 34,862,880 |
| 5 | Uganda | 23,546,203 |
| 6 | Niger | 21,735,388 |
| 7 | Mozambique | 21,691,568 |
| 8 | Madagascar | 18,391,299 |
| 9 | Burkina Faso | 18,202,023 |
| 10 | Angola | 17,945,445 |
| 11 | Malawi | 17,669,934 |
| 12 | Sudan | 16,364,686 |
| 13 | Chad | 16,081,007 |
| 14 | Kenya | 13,138,184 |
| 15 | Myanmar | 12,687,720 |
| 16 | Burundi | 11,704,300 |
| 17 | Pakistan | 10,701,612 |
| 18 | Mali | 10,606,683 |
| 19 | South Sudan | 10,490,001 |
| 20 | Zambia | 10,060,384 |
| Rest of world | 157,648,778 |
The 20 countries with the largest electricity access deficits accounted for 76 percent of the global total—an increase from 75 percent the previous year. Once again, 18 of these countries were in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For the third consecutive edition of the report, Nigeria (86.8 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (79.6 million), and Ethiopia (56.4 million) topped the list, collectively representing nearly one-third of the global electricity access deficit.
The lowest national access rates were recorded in South Sudan (5 percent), followed by Chad and Burundi (both at 12 percent), all of which have seen minimal annual progress since 2010.
According to the World Bank, closing the electricity access gap in Sub-Saharan Africa remains particularly challenging.
While 35 million people in the region gained access to electricity in 2023, population growth offset much of the progress, resulting in a net reduction of just 5 million—from 570 million people without access in 2022 to 565 million in 2023.
As a result, Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for 85 percent of the global population without electricity—up sharply from 50 percent in 2010.
To meet the goal of universal access by 2030, electrification efforts in the region must accelerate significantly.
