1.3 billion are living
Living in
In 2012, nearly 25 percent of the population of all developing countries had no electricity
in the dark
the dark
Around the world, 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity. More than 600 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than 300 million are in India alone. Providing electric power to these unserved populations will cause a significant jump in demand in the coming decades. India has promised to place an emphasis on renewable sources of energy; there are programs in Africa to create “mini-grids” using renewables. But as electricity-generating capacity inevitably grows ever larger, India and the other countries of the developing world will not be able to avoid the increased use of fossil fuels as well — and especially coal. New coal-burning power plants will emit less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases than their predecessors, but the strain on the atmosphere will be substantial nonetheless. Read the related story.
The pie charts below show only developing countries, and the gap between those who have access to electricity and those who do not have access:
Dark-blue pie slice: Percentage of the population that does not have access to electricity
Pies are scaled proportionately to each country’s 2012 population
Outlined pie: 100 percent of the population has access to electricity
Dark-blue pie slice: Percentage of the population that does not have access to electricity
Outlined pie: 100 percent of the population has access to electricity
Scale of pies vary by region or continent.
ASIA
Nearly 2 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
Of all countries, India has the largest population that does not have access to electricity — 304 million people. While 94 percent of Indians living in urban areas have electricity, only 67 percent in rural areas have power. North Korea, Burma and Cambodia have it even worse. About 70 percent of their total population does not have electricity.
622 million
MONGOLIA
73%
NORTH
KOREA
of 3.6 billion do not have electricity
China 0.2%
PAKISTAN
NEPAL
BANGLADESH
VIETNAM
BURMA
LAOS
69%
69%
24%
PHILIPPINES
THAILAND
67%
CAMBODIA
India
BRUNEI
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
SRI LANKA
INDONESIA
MIDDLE EAST
Nearly 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
Nearly 80 percent of people without electricity in the Middle East live in Yemen, a country that is one of the poorest in the Arab world and is chronically affected with prolonged power outages.
SYRIA
IRAQ
IRAN
LEBANON
KUWAIT
JORDAN
BAHRAIN
QATAR
UNITED ARAB
SAUDI
EMIRATES
ARABIA
17.7 million
OMAN
56%
of 214.8 million do not have electricity
13.8 million of Yemen’s 24.9 million people do not have electricity
LATIN AMERICA
Fewer than 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
Haiti remains a regional outlier, with only 29 percent of its population — mostly concentrated in and around its capital, Port-au-Prince — having access. Haitians who have electricity receive power an average of five to nine hours per day.
71%
CUBA
HAITI
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
NICARAGUA
JAMAICA
EL
SALVADOR
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
PANAMA
COSTA
RICA
VENEZUELA
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
PERU
BRAZIL
BOLIVIA
23.2 million
PARAGUAY
of 466.1 million do not have electricity
URUGUAY
ARGENTINA
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
7 out of 10 people do not
have access to electricity
Electrification varies widely between rural and urban areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, the rural electrification rate is just 14 percent, compared with 60 percent in urban areas.
LIBERIA
NIGERIA
TANZANIA
CONGO
622.6 million
MALAWI
of 1.1 billion people in Africa do not have electricity
MADAG.
In 38 of 49 sub-Saharan countries, 50 percent of the population or greater do not have electricity:
0
50%
100%
Liberia
South Sudan
Cen. Afr. Rep.
Chad
Sierra Leone
Malawi
97.8%
97.4
95.2
94.4
94.3
92.4
NO ELECTRICITY
Burundi
Rwanda
Uganda
Guinea
Somalia
Eritrea
Madagascar
Congo
Niger
Burkina Faso
Kenya
87.9
87.8
87.6
86.9
86.7
85.9
85.2
85.1
83.4
83.2
81.1
Mauritania
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Tanzania
Swaziland
Lesotho
Togo
Benin
Zambia
79.4%
76.4
75.8
74.6
73.1
72.9
72.6
71.6
70.3
Namibia
Ivory Coast
Mali
Gambia
Congo Republic
Angola
Sudan
69.8%
69.7
67.0
66.4
65.3
64.4
64.2
Mozambique
Zimbabwe
Nigeria
59.8%
56.3
55.2
Note: Island countries Sao Tome and Principe (56%) and Comoros (54.5) are not listed.
Dark-blue pie slice: Percentage of the population that does not have access to electricity
Pies are scaled proportionately to each country’s 2012 population
Outlined pie: 100 percent of the population has access to electricity
ASIA
Nearly 2 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
India has the largest population of all countries that does not have access to electricity — 304 million people. While 94 percent of Indians living in urban areas have electricity, only 67 percent in rural areas have power. North Korea, Burma and Cambodia have it even worse. About 70 percent of their total population does not have electricity.
622 million
MONGOLIA
of 3.6 billion people do not have electricity
NORTH
KOREA
73%
China 0.2%
18 million of 24.8 million people do not have electricity
3 million out of 1.35 billion people live without electricity
32%
NEPAL
PAKISTAN
BURMA
24%
40%
LAOS
304 million do not have electricity
69%
VIETNAM
PHILIPPINES
BANGLADESH
THAILAND
30%
India
67%
CAMBODIA
BRUNEI
MALAYSIA
24%
SINGAPORE
INDONESIA
SRI LANKA
MIDDLE EAST
Nearly 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
IRAQ
SYRIA
IRAN
LEBANON
KUWAIT
JORDAN
17.7 million
BAHRAIN
QATAR
UNITED ARAB
SAUDI
EMIRATES
ARABIA
of 214.8 million people do not have electricity
OMAN
YEMEN
56%
Nearly 80 percent of people without electricity in the Middle East live in Yemen, a country plagued with prolonged power outages.
13.8 million of Yemen’s 24.9 million people do not have electricity
LATIN AMERICA
Fewer than 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
71%
7.3 million of Haiti’s 10.3 million
CUBA
people have no electricity
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
NICARAGUA
JAMAICA
EL SALVADOR
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
COSTA RICA
COLOMBIA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
ECUADOR
PERU
BRAZIL
23.2 million
BOLIVIA
of 466.1 million people do not have electricity
PARAGUAY
Haiti remains a regional outlier, with only 29 percent of its population — mostly concentrated in and around its capital, Port-au-Prince — having access. Haitians who have electricity receive power an average of five to nine hours per day.
URUGUAY
ARGENTINA
NORTH AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN
Fewer than 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
7 out of 10 people do not
have access to electricity
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
79%
67%
83%
MAURITANIA
MALI
NIGER
64%
SUDAN
94%
CHAD
SENEGAL
86%
ERITREA
BURKINA FASO
BENIN
66%
72%
GAMBIA
GUINEA
DJIBOUTI
76%
83
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REP.
GUINEA-
S. SUDAN
87
55%
NIGERIA
BASSAU
95%
97
ETHIOPIA
SIERRA LEONE
76%
TOGO
94%
UGANDA
73%
LIBERIA
CAMEROON
IVORY
GHANA
98%
RWANDA
COAST
EQUATORIAL
88
SOMALIA
70%
GUINEA
87%
81
88
GABON
KENYA
85
88
CONGO REP.
75
CONGO
BURUNDI
TANZANIA
70%
ZAMBIA
622.6 million
ANGOLA
MALAWI
64%
92
MADAGASCAR
56%
ZIMBABWE
85
of 1.1 billion people do not have electricity
NAMIBIA
MOZAMBIQUE
70%
BOTSWANA
60%
SWAZILAND
In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban electrification rate is 60 percent, compared with only 14 percent in rural areas. At least 50 percent of the entire populations in 38 of the 49 sub-Saharan countries live without electricity — worse off, 51.4 million of 54.3 million people (94.7 percent) living in Liberia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Sierra Leone and Malawi do not have electricity.
73%
LESOTHO
73%
SOUTH AFRICA
Dark-blue pie slice: Percentage of the population that does not have access to electricity
ASIA
622 million
of 3.6 billion people do not have electricity
Nearly 2 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
Of all countries, India has the largest population that does not have access to electricity — 304 million people. While 94 percent of Indians living in urban areas have electricity, only 67 percent in rural areas have power. North Korea, Burma and Cambodia have it even worse. About 70 percent of their total population does not have electricity.
MONGOLIA
NORTH
KOREA
73%
18 million of 24.8 million people do not have electricity
China 0.2%
3 million out of 1.35 billion people live without electricity
32%
NEPAL
PAKISTAN
BURMA
24%
40%
304 million do not have electricity
LAOS
69%
VIETNAM
PHILIPPINES
BANGLADESH
THAILAND
30%
India
67%
CAMBODIA
BRUNEI
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
24%
INDONESIA
SRI LANKA
NORTH AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN
Fewer than 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
7 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
79%
67%
83%
MAURITANIA
MALI
NIGER
64%
SUDAN
94%
CHAD
SENEGAL
86%
ERITREA
BURKINA FASO
BENIN
66%
72%
GAMBIA
GUINEA
DJIBOUTI
76%
83
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REP.
GUINEA-
S. SUDAN
87
55%
NIGERIA
BASSAU
95%
97
ETHIOPIA
SIERRA LEONE
76%
TOGO
94%
UGANDA
73%
LIBERIA
CAMEROON
SOMALIA
IVORY
GHANA
98%
RWANDA
87%
COAST
EQUATORIAL
88
70%
GUINEA
81
88
KENYA
GABON
AFRICA
85
88
CONGO REP.
75
622.6 million
CONGO
BURUNDI
TANZANIA
70%
ZAMBIA
ANGOLA
of 1.1 billion people do not have electricity
MALAWI
64%
92
MADAGASCAR
56%
ZIMBABWE
85
Electrification varies widely between rural and urban areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban electrification rate is 60 percent, compared with only 14 percent in rural areas. At least 50 percent of the entire populations in 38 of the 49 sub-Saharan countries live without electricity — worse off, 51.4 million of 54.3 million people (94.7 percent) living in Liberia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Sierra Leone and Malawi do not have electricity.
NAMIBIA
MOZAMBIQUE
70%
BOTSWANA
60%
SWAZILAND
73%
LESOTHO
73%
SOUTH AFRICA
MIDDLE EAST
IRAQ
SYRIA
IRAN
LEBANON
KUWAIT
Nearly 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
BAHRAIN
JORDAN
QATAR
UNITED ARAB
SAUDI
17.7 million
EMIRATES
ARABIA
of 214.8 million people do not have electricity
OMAN
YEMEN
56%
Nearly 80 percent of the people without electricity in the Middle East live in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Yemen often suffers from prolonged power outages.
13.8 million of Yemen’s 24.9 million people do not have electricity
71% 7.3 million of Haiti’s 10.3 million
people have no electricity
CUBA
CENTRAL AMERICA
CARIBBEAN
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
GUATEMALA
HONDURAS
JAMAICA
NICARAGUA
EL SALVADOR
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
COSTA RICA
COLOMBIA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
ECUADOR
LATIN AMERICA
BRAZIL
PERU
BOLIVIA
Fewer than 1 out of 10 people do not have access to electricity
SOUTH AMERICA
PARAGUAY
23.2 million
of 466.1 million people do not have electricity
URUGUAY
Haiti remains a regional outlier, with only 29 percent of its population — mostly concentrated in and around its capital, Port-au-Prince — having access. Haitians who have electricity receive power an average of five to nine hours per day.
ARGENTINA
Published Nov. 6, 2015; updated Nov. 10, 2015.
Note: African island countries Sao Tome and Principe (56% without electricity), Comoros (54.5), Cabo Verde (6%), Seychelles (3%) and Reunion (1%) are not shown.
Sources: International Energy Agency’s electricity database and methodology, World Bank, Worldwatch Institute, NASA
