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Number of people without electricity has halved since 2000

Number of people without electricity has halved since 2000

Built World

From 1.35 billion to roughly 675 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa holding most of the remaining gap

May 8th, 2026: Halfway milestone confirmed

Overview

In 2000, 1.35 billion people lived without electricity. By May 2026, that count has fallen to roughly 675 million. The drop works out to about 334,000 new connections every day, sustained for a quarter century.

The progress is real but uneven. About 85% of those still without power now live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where population growth has outrun grid expansion. The region's share has climbed from 50% in 2010 even as the global total has fallen by half.

Why it matters

Electricity enables refrigerated medicine, schooling after sunset, and modern healthcare. Roughly 675 million people still go without, down from 1.35 billion.

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Key Indicators

675M
People still without electricity
Down from 1.35 billion in 2000, per Our World in Data and Tracking SDG7.
50%
Reduction since 2000
Global population without electricity has been cut in half over 25 years.
334,000
Daily new connections
Average daily count of people gaining electricity access since 2000.
85%
Share of gap in Sub-Saharan Africa
Up from 50% in 2010 as access expanded faster in Asia than in Africa.
92%
Global electrification rate
Share of the world's population with basic electricity access in 2023.
$48B
Mission 300 financing
Combined World Bank and African Development Bank pledges through 2030.

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People Involved

Hannah Ritchie
Hannah Ritchie
Published the dataset behind the May 2026 milestone
 Ajay Banga
Ajay Banga
Lead architect of Mission 300
 Fatih Birol
Fatih Birol
Co-author of the Tracking SDG7 progress reports

Organizations Involved

International Energy Agency
International Energy Agency
Intergovernmental energy organization
Lead author of the Tracking SDG7 progress report

Paris-based policy body that publishes the global Tracking SDG7 progress report.
WB
World Bank Group
Multilateral development institution
Lead funder of African electricity access through Mission 300

The largest single funder of electricity access projects in low-income countries.
Mission 300
Mission 300
Multilateral electrification initiative
44 million connected as of late 2025

Joint World Bank and African Development Bank initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
Our World in Data
Our World in Data
Research publication
Published the May 2026 halving data update

University of Oxford research project publishing long-run datasets on global living conditions.

Timeline

January 2000 May 2026

12 events Latest: May 8th, 2026 · 2 months ago Showing 8 of 12
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Halfway milestone confirmed

    Latest Data point

    Our World in Data's updated figures, republished by HumanProgress, confirm the global unelectrified count has halved since 2000, from 1.35 billion to about 675 million.

  2. Private Sector Council launched

    Policy

    Mission 300 launches a Private Sector Council to bring commercial financing and corporate offtake into African electricity rollouts.

  3. 17 more countries sign on

    Policy

    Seventeen additional African countries commit to national energy compacts under Mission 300, expanding the initiative's reach.

  4. Tracking SDG7 2025 published

    Report

    Joint IEA, IRENA, UN, World Bank, and WHO report puts the global unelectrified count at 666 million, with 85% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  5. Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration

    Policy

    Forty-eight African countries endorse national energy compacts under Mission 300 at the inaugural Africa Energy Summit.

  6. World Bank and AfDB launch Mission 300

    Policy

    Ajay Banga announces a joint World Bank and African Development Bank pledge to connect 300 million Africans by 2030.

  7. First reversal in a decade

    Data point

    Energy price shocks tied to the war in Ukraine push the global unelectrified count up, the first such rise in more than ten years.

  8. India electrifies its last village

    Milestone

    Leisang village in Manipur becomes the final inhabited Indian village connected to the grid, completing village-level electrification.

  9. India launches Saubhagya

    Policy

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the Saubhagya scheme to wire every Indian household to the grid.

  10. UN adopts SDG7

    Policy

    United Nations member states adopt Sustainable Development Goal 7, targeting universal energy access by 2030.

  11. Sub-Saharan Africa reaches half of global gap

    Data point

    South Asian electrification accelerates faster than African access. Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the unelectrified population reaches 50%.

  12. Baseline: 1.35 billion without electricity

    Data point

    Roughly 22% of humanity lives without electricity access. Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia hold the bulk of the gap.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 1935 – 1953

U.S. Rural Electrification (1935-1953)

Only 10% of American farms had electricity in 1935. President Franklin Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration that May, offering low-interest federal loans to farmer cooperatives. The federal government took on work that private utilities had refused as unprofitable.

Then

By 1942, nearly half of American farms had power. The REA financed roughly 350,000 miles of new transmission lines in seven years.

Now

By the early 1950s, more than 90% of American farms had electricity. Rural productivity, water pumping, and refrigeration transformed for a generation.

Why this matters now

The American case shows how dedicated public financing can close an electrification gap that private utilities leave behind. Mission 300's loan-and-compact structure borrows the same logic.

1998 – 2015

China's Last-Mile Electrification (1998-2015)

China had roughly 200 million people without electricity in the late 1990s, mostly in remote western provinces. Beijing launched the Township Electrification Program in 2002 and the Village Electrification Program in 2005, combining grid extensions with off-grid renewables. By 2015 the country had reached universal access.

Then

Roughly 100 million Chinese citizens gained electricity between 2000 and 2010. Rural household incomes rose as small businesses became viable after dark.

Now

China became the world's largest solar manufacturer in part because of domestic deployment in unelectrified villages. The country now supplies most of the solar panels used in African off-grid rollouts.

Why this matters now

China is the single largest contributor to the halved global total since 2000. Its solar manufacturing base now powers much of the next wave of African electrification.

October 2017 – March 2022

India's Saubhagya Scheme (2017-2022)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Saubhagya in October 2017 to wire every Indian household. About 30 million households still lacked connections. The scheme paid for last-mile wiring, meter installation, and a basic LED kit.

Then

By April 2018, India declared all 18,374 inhabited villages electrified, ending with Leisang in Manipur. By 2022, 28.6 million households had been connected.

Now

India closed most of its access gap in five years. Connection quality remains uneven, with reliability and hours of supply varying by state, but the headline count moved decisively.

Why this matters now

India accounts for the second-largest share of the global drop in unelectrified population. Its scheme structure—paid connections, government-backed financing—is a model Mission 300 references in country compacts.

Sources

(11)
+5
HumanProgress Our World in Data International Energy Agency World Bank African Development Bank Government of India, Ministry of Power United Nations World Bank World Bank World Bank Our World in Data