About 770 Million Africans Have No Access to Electricity – Report

Nigeria accounts for about 10 per cent of the African population without electricity.

The number of people without access to electricity in Africa dropped from almost 860 million in 2018 to 770 million in 2019, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

This represents 38 per cent of the population in the continent.

In its report, 2019 Africa Energy Outlook, IEA said energy access policies continue to bear fruit in Africa, with data showing important progress.

The report gave for the first time an assessment of off-grid electricity access, sourced from government and commercial data.

It noted that 75 per cent of the population without access live in sub-Saharan Africa, a share that has risen over recent years.

The number, IEA said, is set to increase in 2020, pushing many countries farther away from achieving the goal of universal access by 2030.

“By 2030, 50 per cent of the global population without access is concentrated in seven countries – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan, Tanzania, Niger and Sudan.”

A country-by-country assessment shows that only 1 per cent of South Sudan has access to electricity; 3 per cent in Central Africa and 9 per cent in Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo respectively.

Likewise in Burundi, 11 per cent of the population has access, 12 per cent in Liberia and 14 per cent in Niger.

Source: premiumtimesng