Department FrontPage

African energy use will increase by 60% by 2040, but it remains the lowest consumer of energy on a per-capita basis through this forecast period. Sub-Saharan Africa currently accounts for 4% of global energy investment, although it accounts for 14% of the world’s population. Many in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity: those who do consume on average 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, compared to almost 1 600 kWh in the European Union. Agriculture remains a mainstay of economies in sub-Saharan Africa but productivity is relatively low: even small increases in access to electricity could make a large difference to economic output. There is vast, still untapped potential for renewable resources and natural gas developments to improve access while leapfrogging to cleaner long-term solutions.