Africa continues to face the world’s largest electricity access gap with a shortfall in investment “the central constraint,” the latest Africa Sustainable Development Report said. Access to electricity increased from approximately 46% in 2015 to about 53% in 2023, yet nearly 600 million people remain without power.
Urban electrification rates exceed 80%, the report found, while rural access remains below 40% in many countries. Annual investment in energy access on the continent is estimated at $4 billion, according to the report, which was jointly prepared by the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, UNDP, and Economic Commission for Africa. “Without a rapid scale-up of financing and regional energy integration, energy poverty risks becoming further entrenched,” wrote the authors.
