Electricity is a fundamental catalyst for economic development, and many African countries are actively working towards enhancing their energy infrastructure to stimulate growth.
While electricity affordability remains a challenge in some regions, there are several African countries that stand out for their commitment to providing cheap and accessible electricity.
According to Yahoo Finance, the world’s electricity market is currently valued at over $1.94 trillion and is projected to reach $3.9 trillion in 2032.
This projection is a result of an estimated rise in demand for electricity, expected to spike by a 3.3% year-on-year increase by 2024. This would be driven by population increase, and economic development with the industrial, residential, and commercial sectors as the primary consumers.
Naturally, an increase in demand leads to an increase in cost, and while this is likely going to be the case, there are countries that boast low electricity costs and would most likely continue to thread within that direction. Below is a list of the ten of these countries in Africa.
This list is courtesy of Global Petrol Prices, a platform that publishes up-to-date information on retail energy prices around the world including motor fuel prices, electricity prices, and natural gas prices.
The data set was last dated March 2023. With that said, below are the African countries in 2023 with the cheapest electricity prices in kilowatts per hour.
List of African countries with the cheapest electricity prices
| 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 |