A Wealth of Possibilities: Power and Energy in Africa

Africa faces critical questions about its future economic development, particularly in relation to its energy supply and its population's access to electricity. According to the International Energy Agency, in Africa the population is projected to grow by 71% from 2009 to 2035, but there will be only a 38% increase in energy demand over the same period. This means that while Africa's share of the global population will increase from 15% in 2009 to 20% in 2035, its share of global energy demand will decline fractionally to 5.4% over the same time frame. In countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, large portions of the population have no access to electricity. Although generation and transmission facilities are growing, per capita generation in Africa in 2009 amounted to only about 600 kWh, as compared with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 7,500 kWh, and the future looks bleaker, particularly in the sub-Saharan region.