The World Bank includes Nigeria as a country that has the highest number of citizens without access to electricity

The World Bank in the latest report has placed the number of people without access to electricity in Nigeria with 86.8 million defeats, the highest worldwide.

World Bank Report 2025., released on Wednesday, covering 2023 and entitled: “Tracking Sustainable Development Targets, SDG7: Energy Progress Report 2025”.

The report that puts Nigeria in the global lowest position is the third year in a row of this country positioned, and shows that of the top 20 countries with the weakest access 18 originated from the sub-Sahara Africa.

The World Bank report further notes that 61 percent of Nigeria’s population has access to electricity and 26 percent has access to net cooking energy in 2023.

The report stated: “In 2023, 20 countries with the largest electricity access deficit contributed 76 percent of the total global, up from 75 percent in 2022. Once again, 18 of these countries were in sub-Sahara Africa.

“For the third edition in a row from this report, Nigeria (86.8 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (79.6 million), and Ethiopia (56.4 million) took the top of the list, together to calculate about one third of all global access deficits.

“The lowest level of national access was observed in South Sudan (5 percent) followed by Chad and Burundi (12 percent), the three of them have shown low annual access since 2010.”

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According to the World Bank, in Africa Sub-Sahara, 35 million people gained access to electricity in 2023, but population growth during the same period was 30 million, making the net electricity access gap for the region fell only 5 million (from 570 million in 2022 to 565 million in 2023).

The World Bank noted that the region now contributed 85 percent of the global population without electricity.

“The biggest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and South Asia, while the pace of progress in Africa Sub-Sahara requires significant acceleration. Central and South Asia has made significant steps towards universal access, reducing their access gaps from 414 million in 2010 to only 27 million in 2023.

“In Africa Sub-Sahara, 35 million people gained access to electricity in 2023, but population growth during the same period was 30 million, so that the net electricity access gap for the region fell only 5 million (from 570 million in 2022 to 565 million in 2023).

“This region now contributed 85 percent of the global population without electricity, up from 50 percent in 2010.”

In his view of SDG7 for 2030, the World Bank said: “Since 2010, the world has reduced the number of people without electricity access by 665 million, and 21 countries have reached at least near universal access.

“However, the International Energy Agency, IEA, projects that 645 million will still lack access in 2030, although one fifth of countries that still do not have universal access to lane to reach near universal access in 2030 under the current policy.