Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • No change in horizon in Uganda as “lord Museveni” takes early election lead, rival alleges fraud

  • UK opens largest temporary mortuary as high covid deaths continue

  • Capitol Riot Fallout: Colleges Rescind Honorary Degrees Awarded To Trump

  • Coated tongue becoming more widespread as coronavirus symptom-Expert

  • Africa gets 1st vaccine doses from COVAX in March, mass vaccination in June-WHO

News Now
Home›News Now›More people now have electricity in Africa, but 600 million are still in the dark

More people now have electricity in Africa, but 600 million are still in the dark

By alternativeafrica
May 6, 2018
624
0
Share:

 

Still in the dark (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

London, May 6, 2018 (AltAfrika)-Around 600 million people lacked access to electricity in Africa, according to World Bank data from 2014.

If you have read an article about electricity in Africa before, this number is not new to you. It has become a familiar, almost totemic refrain in every op-ed, panel discussion and program launch addressing electrification on the continent. The statistic is so frequently cited that it can sometimes wash over its audience like a repeated cliché.

Several days ago, the World Bank quietly updated the statistic based on 2016 data. This update provides us with a space to appreciate, again, the heavy and urgent burden of human consequence this statistic represents. It should imbue us all with a renewed sense of urgency.

But some 600 million people still lack access to electricity in Africa, according to World Bank 2016 data. In other words, no absolute progress has been made since 2014.

Over the two years from 2014 to 2016, the off-grid population has gone down slightly. In fact, electricity has reached an impressive additional 76 million people and the electrification rate increased by 5 percentage points to 43%%. But, these 76 million new connections only slightly outpaced population growth of 54.5 million people. So the absolute number of people living without electricity has fallen by only 21 million and the headline statistic remains basically steady at a rounded 600 million people.

There are some encouraging signs. 60% of the newly connected population were in rural areas, where people are more difficult to connect. The urban electrification rate moved slightly from 72% to 74% while rural electrification increased from 16% to 23% in the same time frame. So, progress is being made in the more difficult task of rural electrification. But it’s not enough.

What does this all mean?

The electrification sector has not been standing still. Pay-as-you-go solar has attracted $750 million in investment over the past five years, mini-grids are gaining traction with hefty donor funding allocated across the continent (our estimate is over $600 million) and public sector electrification efforts by national governments are intensifying.

But, this update confirms again that universal electrification is hard and expensive. Grid connections cost anywhere between $250 and $2500+ depending on proximity to the grid. Mini-grids that offer a grid-like service still cost between $500 and $1500 to connect each household. Electrification in a continent where over 60% of the population still live in rural areas is even harder.

So our message isn’t one of discouragement. Instead, we’d propose that we use this update to look with fresh eyes at this staggering statistic; 600m people in Africa lack electricity. We must renew our appreciation for the scale of the challenge and the human consequences of failure.

Universal electrification is the seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals that the global community has committed to achieve by 2030. Even on very optimistic assumptions about the current connection trajectory, 240 million people in Africa will still lack electricity in 2030.

To reach our goal, governments, donors and investors need to rally anew behind both government electrification efforts and private sector players in the utility, mini-grid and solar home system sectors

Quartz

 

SHARE ON:
Previous Article

Remodelling the past:The ruins of Somalia’s war ...

Next Article

Street football in conflict ridden Libya

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • BusinessNews Now

    Nigeria: CBN, EFCC partner to prevent known economic criminals from opening bank accounts

    March 8, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews Now

    Ghana to float $50 billion bond to finance infrastructure development

    September 3, 2018
    By VJ Africa
  • HealthNews NowWorld

    A city in China offers $77 reward for residents to report neighbours who skip covid test

    January 9, 2021
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    Egyptian jets destroy arms convoy crossing from Libya

    October 23, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • News NowTechnology

    Nigerian teenagers win World tech innovation challenge in Califonia

    August 10, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews Now

    eSwatini will not switch to China from Taiwan – minister

    August 22, 2018
    By VJ Africa

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • AfrikaTVBusinessEnvironmentNews NowTechnology

    Morocco inaugurates $170m windfarm project to kick start clean energy revolution

  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    Zimbabwe launches home made electricity transformer

  • AfrikaTVBusinessEditorialsNews NowWorld

    How UK, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, others attract dirty money, aid money laundering through “Golden Visa” Scheme

Timeline

  • January 15, 2021

    No change in horizon in Uganda as “lord Museveni” takes early election lead, rival alleges fraud

  • January 15, 2021

    UK opens largest temporary mortuary as high covid deaths continue

  • January 15, 2021

    Capitol Riot Fallout: Colleges Rescind Honorary Degrees Awarded To Trump

  • January 15, 2021

    Coated tongue becoming more widespread as coronavirus symptom-Expert

  • January 15, 2021

    Africa gets 1st vaccine doses from COVAX in March, mass vaccination in June-WHO

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • 22 Laburnum Court, Laburnum Road, Mitcham London, CR4 2NA, United Kingdom
  • +44(0)2036320939 | +44(0)7535019197 | +44(0)7305356327
  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • No change in horizon in Uganda as “lord Museveni” takes early election lead, rival alleges ...

    By alternativeafrica
    January 15, 2021
  • UK opens largest temporary mortuary as high covid deaths continue

    By alternativeafrica
    January 15, 2021
  • Capitol Riot Fallout: Colleges Rescind Honorary Degrees Awarded To Trump

    By alternativeafrica
    January 15, 2021
  • Coated tongue becoming more widespread as coronavirus symptom-Expert

    By alternativeafrica
    January 15, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.