Electricity is a critical driver of economic development, and many African countries are actively seeking to improve their energy infrastructure in order to spur growth.
While power affordability remains a concern in some areas, several African countries stand out for their dedication to delivering affordable and accessible electricity.
According to Yahoo Finance, the global power market is currently worth more than $1.94 trillion and is expected to grow to $3.9 trillion by 2032.
This prognosis is based on a projected increase in power demand, which is expected to increase by 3.3% year on year by 2024. Population growth and economic development would drive this, with the industrial, residential, and commercial sectors serving as key consumers.
Naturally, an increase in demand leads to an increase in cost, and while this is true, there are countries that boast low electricity costs and will most likely continue to do so. The following is a list of the ten African countries.
Global Petrol costs, a website that provides up-to-date information on retail energy costs around the world, including motor fuel prices, electricity prices, and natural gas prices, provided this list.
The data set was most recently updated on March 2023. With that said, the African countries with the lowest electricity rates in kilowatt-hours in 2023 are shown below.
| Rank | Country | Price of electricity (kilowatt/hour) | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ethiopia | $0.006 | 3rd |
| 2. | Sudan | $0.008 | 4th |
| 3. | Libya | $0.008 | 5th |
| 4. | Angola | $0.014 | 7th |
| 5. | Zimbabwe | $0.015 | 9th |
| 6. | Zambia | $0.024 | 13th |
| 7. | Nigeria | $0.028 | 16th |
| 8. | Egypt | $0.029 | 18th |
| 9. | Algeria | $0.040 | 23rd |
| 10. | Democratic Republic of Congo | $0.063 | 38th |