Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report: almost 92% of the world’s population has basic access to electricity

Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report is a product of close collaboration among the five SDG 7 custodian agencies operating through a specially constituted Steering Group. The agencies include the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO)

92% of World’s Population Has Electricity Access: SDG 7 Progress Report

• The international financial flows to developing countries towards clean energy reached USD 21.6 billion in 2023, following three consecutive years of growth.
• Installed renewables capacity per capita in developing countries more than doubled since 2015, hitting a new high of 341 watts per capita.
• At the same time, the report reveals regional disparities, with sub-Saharan Africa lagging behind on most indicators.

The SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) custodian agencies have launched their annual progress report summarizing global “progress on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean cooking, and international cooperation to advance SDG 7.” The report finds that almost 92% of the world’s population has basic access to electricity, but the current rate of progress is insufficient to achieve universal access by 2030.

The Energy Progress Report 2025 emphasizes the role of mini-grid and off-grid solar systems (distributed renewable energy) in accelerating access among people living in remote, rural, lower-income, and fragile areas as these are cost-effective and rapidly scalable.

The report also highlights the role of decentralized solutions in increasing access to clean cooking, which is improving but below the rates of progress seen in the 2010s. An estimated 1.5 billion people still lacking access to clean cooking solutions, according to the report. It shows how the use of off-grid clean technologies, including household biogas plants and mini-grids, can help reduce household air pollution and associated health impacts.

The report shows progress in several areas. The international financial flows to developing countries towards clean energy reached USD 21.6 billion in 2023, following three consecutive years of growth. Installed renewables capacity per capita in developing countries more than doubled since 2015, hitting a new high of 341 watts per capita.

At the same time, the report reveals regional disparities, with sub-Saharan Africa lagging behind on most indicators. For example, 85% of the global population without electricity access lives in the region and four in five families lack access to clean cooking. The report identifies the lack of sufficient and affordable financing as the main reason behind regional inequalities and slow progress.

The report was produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO). It was launched on 25 June, ahead of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), during which it will be presented to decision makers at a special launch event on 16 July.

The report is available here. The executive summary is available here.

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