Sub-Saharan Africa Accounts for 86% of Global Electricity Access Gap

BREAKING NEWSJune 28, 2026 at 8:03 PM UTC

TLDR

Sub-Saharan Africa holds 86% of the global electricity access gap in 2024, with 563 million people lacking power.
Progress in electricity connections slightly outpaces population growth in the region, adding 42 million connections annually but reducing the deficit by only 4 million each year.
East Africa shows improvement in cutting electricity access deficit by 35 million people from 2010 to 2024 through grid expansion and decentralized energy initiatives.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 86% of the global electricity access gap in 2024, with 563 million people still living without power, according to the Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026.

The report, published by the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency and the World Bank, said 655 million people worldwide lacked electricity in 2024. Most of them were in sub-Saharan Africa.

Electricity connections are growing in the region, but only slightly faster than the population. Between 2022 and 2024, sub-Saharan Africa added an average of 42 million electricity connections each year, while its population grew by about 38 million people annually. That reduced the number of people without power by only about 4 million each year.

The region’s share of the global access deficit rose from 49% in 2010 to 86% in 2024. Over the same period, the number of people without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa barely changed, falling to 563 million from 565 million.

Progress varies across the continent. East Africa cut its electricity access deficit by 35 million people between 2010 and 2024, helped by grid expansion and decentralised energy in countries including Rwanda and Kenya. Central Africa’s deficit rose by 34 million, while West Africa still had about 181 million people without power in 2024.

Key Takeaways

Sub-Saharan Africa’s electricity access challenge is not only about building more connections. It is about building them faster than population growth. The region is adding millions of new electricity users every year, but population growth is absorbing most of that progress. That is why the number of people without power has barely changed since 2010, even though electrification projects have expanded. The solution will require a mix of grid expansion, mini-grids and off-grid solar, because many rural and low-income communities remain too costly or slow to reach through national grids alone. Mission 300, backed by the World Bank and African Development Bank, has already connected more than 50 million people and aims to reach 300 million by 2030. But the scale of the gap remains large. Decentralised solar already provides basic electricity access to hundreds of millions globally, while mini-grids offer stronger service for communities and businesses. For Africa, the priority is turning those tools into faster, cheaper and more reliable access at scale.

Economy