Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have for the first time each replaced India as countries with the largest population without access to electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Nigeria, the largest and most populous economy in Africa, 85 million people have no power connection \u2013 the largest number across the globe. It is followed by DRC with 68 million people lacking access and 64 million for India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is according to a new joint report released on Thursday by the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World Bank. The report tracks progress made by countries in electrifying their populations covering the 2010\u20132018 period. In what should worry policy wonks, it indicates that the sustainable development goal (SDG) number seven of achieving universal power access by 2030 would not be met. This has further been dampened by the Covid-19 storm that is wildly swinging supply chains and putting projects on ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 2018, Nigeria replaced India as the country with the largest population without access. For the first time since tracking began, the top two deficit countries (Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo) are in sub-Saharan Africa,\u201d says the report titled Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe pace of electrification in Nigeria (1.1 percentage points annually since 2010) was not enough to keep up with population growth (three percentage points annually),\u201d says the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nigeria has an access rate of 57 percent and 19 percent for DRC, far below the world\u2019s average connectivity rate of 90 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 85 million, Nigeria accounts for 15 percent of Africa\u2019s population lacking a power connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By contrast, India, the second most populous country in the world, made major progress between 2010 and 2018 by accelerating its efforts to achieve universal access. The country has an access rate of 95 percent, with 64 million Indians in the blackout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe world\u2019s access deficit is increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, which, in 2018, was home to about 548 million people who lacked access\u2014more than half of the region\u2019s population and nearly 70 percent of the global population without access,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n