Rwanda spread electricity faster than any country since 2014
Share of people with access to electricity, %, 2014 and 2024: the ten biggest gains worldwide.
- 1. By 2100, more than 1 in 3 people will be African
- 2. Nearly half the world's under-25s will be African by 2100
- 3. DR Congo is projected to outgrow the US by 2100
- 4. Kinshasa will soon be bigger than Paris and London combined
- 5. Two-thirds of the world's mobile money moves in Africa
- 6. Volcanic heat makes nearly 45% of the power Kenya generates
- 7. Africa's solar imports more than doubled since early 2024
- 8. DR Congo mines three-quarters of the world's cobalt
- 9. Nearly two in three people in Africa are still offline
- 10. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste
- 11. Ethiopia added over a third of Africa's new renewable power
- 12. DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
- 13. Nigeria's cities now hold more people than Japan's
- 14. Sudan now has the world's most people displaced at home
- 15. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 16. Six of the ten fastest-growing big cities are African
- 17. Africa now has more hungry people than Asia
- 18. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
- 19. Rwanda spread electricity faster than any country since 2014
Rwandans with electricity in 2024, up from 19.8% in 2014.
Rwanda's gain since 2014, the biggest of any country. Cambodia added 43.1 and Kenya 41.0.
Rwanda's gain against sub-Saharan Africa's, which rose from 38.4% to 55.1%. Rwanda now sits well above its region.
the numbers & method
| 2014 (%) | 2024 (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rwanda | 19.8 | 72.0 |
| Cambodia | 56.1 | 99.2 |
| Kenya | 36.0 | 77.0 |
| Bangladesh | 62.4 | 99.5 |
| Uganda | 20.4 | 55.3 |
| Lesotho | 27.8 | 60.6 |
| Timor-Leste | 62.4 | 94.3 |
| Solomon Islands | 50.5 | 81.5 |
| Zimbabwe | 32.3 | 62.0 |
| Ethiopia | 27.2 | 56.6 |
Claim types Estimate · Interpretation
Series EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS 'Access to electricity (% of population)', World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) database from the Tracking SDG 7 report, based on household surveys and modelled estimates. Read from the World Bank API (WDI last updated 8 Oct 2026) on 4 Nov 2026. Ranking: change in percentage points 2014 to 2024 across all economies with data for both years (all but American Samoa and Kosovo); aggregates excluded. Top ten: Rwanda +52.2, Cambodia +43.1, Kenya +41.0, Bangladesh +37.1, Uganda +34.9, Lesotho +32.8, Timor-Leste +31.9, Solomon Islands +31.0, Zimbabwe +29.7, Ethiopia +29.4. Rwanda by year: 9.7 (2010), 19.8 (2014), 50.6 (2022), 63.9 (2023), 72.0 (2024). Sub-Saharan Africa (SSF): 38.35 (2014), 55.11 (2024), a gain of 16.76 points; 52.2 / 16.76 = 3.1 (progrss calculation). Access includes off-grid connections such as solar home systems as measured in surveys. Values are estimates and may be revised. The ranking depends on the window: over 2010–2024 Cambodia leads (+68.1 points) ahead of Rwanda (+62.3); over 2019–2024 Rwanda leads (+25.4). Rwanda's series includes a 13.3-point jump from 2022 to 2023, likely as new survey data entered the estimates.
Published 4 Nov 2026
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