Energy Poverty: Bringing Electricity to Every Community
Former U.S. President Joe Biden is facing a worsening health situation after his son Hunter Biden said the cancer has spread to his bones and described the disease as "very painful" and "very debilitating."
The world has made real progress on electricity, yet the final stretch is proving the hardest. A UN report shows that 655 million people, about 8% of the global population, still live without electricity, and the global access rate has stalled at 92%. (Tracking SDG7 2026, via NewKerala and Ecofin Agency)
The burden falls most heavily on one region. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 86% of the global access gap in 2024, with 563 million people without power, and its share has risen from 49% in 2010. Nigeria has about 87 million people without electricity, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 85 million and Ethiopia 57 million. (AllAfrica) (Ecofin Agency)
Why is the gap not closing if new connections are being made?
Between 2022 and 2024, the region added 42 million connections yearly, while the population increased by 38 million, reducing the unconnected population by 4 million annually. The rural deficit worsened, growing from 376 million to 447 million from 2010 to 2024. (AllAfrica) (Ecofin Agency)
IEA chief Fatih Birol puts the priority simply: "Access to modern energy starts with two fundamentals: clean cooking and electricity." The cooking gap is just as large, as around two billion people still rely on polluting fuels. (OGN News)
Are there solutions that are already working?
East Africa reduced its electricity deficit by 35 million from 2010 to 2024 through grid and decentralized energy expansion, particularly in Rwanda and Kenya. Analysts emphasize that combining grids, mini-grids, and off-grid solar is crucial. Nevertheless, 644 million people may still lack access in 2030, needing US$30 billion annually. (AllAfrica) (Ecofin Agency) (SEforALL)
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