Electricity access and estimated population without access

WDI electricity-access shares and population, with derived estimates of people without electricity and a World/Sub-Saharan Africa comparison for 2000–2024.

  • World Bank countries/economies and aggregates, 1960–2025; access observations 1990–2024; chart uses World and Sub-Saharan Africa aggregates for every year 2000–2024.
  • Snapshot: 14 October 2026 · Free CSV + ZIP
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What the chart shows

WDI-derived estimates put the global population without electricity at 1.34 billion in 2000 and 657 million in 2024. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of that estimated gap rose from 37.7% to 88.1%.

The reconstructed count in sub-Saharan Africa rose from about 506 million to 579 million even while its access rate improved from 25.7% to 55.1%. The rest-of-world estimate fell from about 836 million to 78 million. Population growth is mathematically relevant, but these comparisons do not isolate causes.

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WDI-derived estimates of people without electricity from 2000 to 2024: sub-Saharan Africa rises from about 506 million to 579 million, while the rest of the world falls from about 836 million to 78 million.
Desktop original; mobile chart. These are approximate WDI-derived counts reconstructed from separately maintained population and access series, not official published SDG7 headcounts. Access coverage and population vintages can differ, so reconstruction can differ from SDG7 report totals.

Method

Use WDI World (WLD) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSF, all income levels) aggregates. Estimate population without access as population × (1 − access_pct/100), then subtract SSA from World for the rest of the world. Use all 25 complete shared annual observations from 2000 through 2024, with no smoothing or summing overlapping aggregates.

Definitions and limits

  • These are approximate WDI-derived counts reconstructed from separately maintained population and access series, not official published SDG7 headcounts. Access coverage and population vintages can differ, so reconstruction can differ from SDG7 report totals.
  • Source access estimates can be survey-based or modeled. No uncertainty intervals are supplied here; point estimates are not exact counts.
  • Electricity access does not measure uninterrupted supply, reliability, affordability, consumption or equal household service. Regional aggregates hide within-region variation.
  • Population growth can offset improving access rates mathematically; the chart does not isolate causal drivers. 2000 is an interpretable start-of-century baseline, and 2024 is the latest shared access year.
  • The full CSV retains 17,556 entity-year records for 1960–2025, including blanks. Access values are available for 1990–2024; blank 2025 access fields do not mean zero access. Aggregates overlap and must not be summed.
  • The 14 October 2026 source-2 WDI snapshot reports an 8 October 2026 update. Data are CC BY 4.0 with World Bank additional terms; preserve attribution, changes and licensing links, with no endorsement implied.

Sources and reuse

World Bank indicator metadata identifies CC BY 4.0. Attribution, a license link and identification of changes are required. World Bank additional mandatory terms also apply, including mediation then arbitration: https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by . Source metadata and captured licensing evidence accompany the ZIP. No World Bank or UN endorsement is implied. Original Meplar charts and code are separate works; no new license for them is asserted here.

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