Africa still has the largest gap in electricity access. While Central and South Asia have made significant strides, progress in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rural areas, remains far too slow. However, improvements in other regions demonstrate that faster progress is achievable with targeted policies and well-tailored investments.

Sub-Saharan Africa still faces the largest electricity access gap, even as global progress accelerates, according to the 2025 edition of the Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report. The report, published in June by the IEA, IRENA, UN, World Bank, and WHO, reveals that 92% of the global population had access to electricity in 2023, an increase from 87% in 2010. The number of people still lacking access dropped to 666 million. However, a significant 85% of that total is now concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for the bulk of the global deficit.

In 2023, the region added 35 million new connections, but its population grew by 30 million during the same period. At this rate, achieving universal access by 2030 is increasingly unlikely.

Learning from Central and South Asia

In less than 15 years, Central and South Asia transitioned from a massive access deficit to nearly universal rural electrification. The number of people without electricity in rural areas dropped from 383 million in 2010 to just 24.8 million in 2023. This is a reduction of over 90%. This achievement was largely driven by strategic investments in mini-grids and standalone solar systems, which are especially suited for remote regions.

More broadly, the region cut its total electricity access gap from 414 million in 2010 to just 27 million in 2023, a drop of 387 million. In stark contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa’s deficit has worsened. The region now accounts for 85% of the world’s unelectrified population, up from 50% in 2010.

The rural-urban divide is particularly striking. About 451.1 million rural Africans remain without electricity, despite progress in deploying solar kits and mini-grids. This disparity underscores the inadequacy of current policies, the geographical isolation of rural communities, and chronic underinvestment in electrification infrastructure.

Sub-Saharan Africa is not short on technology or ideas. It lacks coordinated strategies, large scale financing, and the political will needed to meet the challenge. The Asian experience demonstrates that dramatic progress is possible if treated as a national and continental priority.

Decentralization: A Promising Path

The report highlights that 55% of new connections in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 and 2022 came from off-grid solutions such as mini-grids and solar kits. These models are faster and cheaper to deploy, and they have proven resilient to macroeconomic shocks. Over 50 million off-grid solar products were sold across the continent in 2022 and 2023.

To accelerate progress, the report urges the removal of regulatory bottlenecks, improvement of data quality, and development of tailored financing tools, including blended finance and monetization of environmental benefits. Rural electrification must return to the top of the political agenda.

With just five years left to meet SDG7, the divide is widening between regions making rapid strides in energy access and those lagging behind. Africa has the potential, the technologies, and now the evidence that universal access is within reach. What is still missing is strategic alignment among governments, development partners, and private actors to turn ambition into action.