• 730 million people lack electricity, 80% in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Region’s access stagnates despite new connections and global progress
• IEA urges reforms, financing to break decade-long energy poverty cycle
  

Some 730 million people worldwide remained without access to electricity in 2024, according to data released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than 80% of that total, with around 590 million people still living without power—a figure that has barely changed in over a decade.

While about 6.8 million new connections were made in 2024, rapid population growth in the region offset much of the progress. As a result, the total number of people without electricity fell by only 4 million. High debt levels and shrinking international financing continue to slow electrification efforts in many countries.

The figures highlight long-term stagnation. In 2010, roughly 581 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lacked electricity—almost the same as today—making it the only region where the number of people without power has barely changed in more than ten years.

The trend stands in sharp contrast to Asia, where 98% of the population now has access to electricity. The number of people without power there fell from 761 million in 2010 to 90 million in 2024.

According to the IEA, the disparity underscores the need to strengthen national policies, expand long-term financing, and lower household electricity costs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Without targeted action and major reforms, the region risks remaining the world’s leading energy-poverty hotspot beyond 2030, hampering its industrialization and economic growth.

Abdoullah Diop