The World Bank’s latest available regional series shows electricity access rising—but the global average hides very different starting points.
| Region | 2000 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| World | 78.22% | 91.93% |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 25.71% | 55.11% |
| South Asia | 56.77% | 99.82% |
| Middle East & North Africa* | 81.37% | 96.46% |
These are annual observations from World Development Indicators indicator EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS. The word “access” matters: this measure does not tell us whether electricity is affordable, reliable, or available around the clock. A high access rate is useful context, but it is not a complete measure of energy poverty or power quality.
*The World Bank’s regional aggregate for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, excluding high-income economies.
Explore the interactive 2000–2024 chart · Read the World Bank indicator definition and source data
I build Global Data Tracker, a free explorer for comparing country statistics and their reporting years: https://globaldatatracker.com/. I’m interested in feedback on how to make data vintage and measurement limits clearer.
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