Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for eight in ten people still without electricity. While new grid and mini-grid connections rose to 6.8 million in 2024, population growth in areas without power offset most gains. Progress was concentrated in a few countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Mozambique, yet 27 nations in the region continue to lag behind pre-2019 levels.
Affordability remains a central barrier. The IEA found that average household electricity consumption in the region has fallen by about 25% over the past decade, even as access expanded from 30% to 50% of the population. Rising tariffs, stagnant incomes, and limited productive use of electricity have constrained demand, while the growth of small solar systems—often below the IEA’s minimum threshold for access—has masked true progress.
In developing Asia, access reached 98% in 2024, with India and Indonesia achieving universal electrification. The remaining gaps lie primarily in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and North Korea, which together account for 83% of the region’s unelectrified population. Progress has slowed in four of the five since 2021, a trend linked to high debt, reduced aid flows, and pandemic-related fiscal strain.
Latin America remains near-universal, also at 98% access, yet gaps remain in remote regions such as the Andean Highlands and the Amazon Basin. The IEA warns that at the current pace, full electrification could take another 15 years, with Haiti and Honduras facing the steepest challenges. In Haiti, nearly half the population remains without power, and the rate of progress in 2024 was 56% below the 2015–2019 average.
Early 2025 estimates suggest the global trend will continue to stagnate. High borrowing costs and declining development finance continue to weigh on progress. Still, the IEA highlights new policy initiatives emerging in 60% of the countries lacking access—including tax incentives, national electrification programs, and consumer subsidies.
Upcoming international efforts such as South Africa’s G20 Presidency, Mission 300, and COP30 in Brazil could reinforce momentum.
The IEA’s forthcoming World Energy Outlook 2025 will include a dedicated chapter on accelerating universal access, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated global financing and policy support to break the cycle of stagnation.
