Global Energy Access Progress In 2025: Gains, Gaps, And The Urgent Push Toward SDG 7 Targets – Report

The Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025 provides a detailed global update on the progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. This joint report is produced by 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).

The report highlights that while global access to electricity has improved, major regional disparities persist. As of 2023, 92% of the world’s population had electricity access, leaving 666 million people still without it. Most of the progress has been made in Central and Southern Asia, where the number of people without electricity has significantly declined. However, Sub-Saharan Africa remains a concern, accounting for 85% of the global population without electricity. In that region, electrification progress is outpaced by population growth. Countries like Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia collectively account for more than one-third of the global access gap.

Efforts to expand electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa face numerous challenges, particularly in rural areas where 84% of people without electricity reside. The report stresses that decentralized renewable energy solutions such as mini-grids and off-grid solar systems are essential to closing this gap, especially in remote and conflict-affected areas. These technologies are cost-effective and more feasible than grid extensions in many scenarios. Between 2020 and 2022, decentralized solutions provided more than half of the new electricity connections in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating resilience even amid global economic challenges.

On clean cooking, the situation remains concerning. As of 2023, 2.1 billion people still rely on polluting fuels like wood, dung, and charcoal for cooking. While access to clean fuels has increased from 64% in 2015 to 74% in 2023, the rate of improvement is not fast enough to achieve universal access by 2030. Sub-Saharan Africa again shows the largest deficit, with rapid population growth canceling out gains. In this region, only 7% of the rural population has access to clean cooking solutions compared to 42% in urban areas. The burden of traditional cooking fuels disproportionately affects women and children, leading to health issues and lost educational and economic opportunities.

In terms of renewable energy, the share in total final energy consumption reached 17.9% in 2022, showing steady progress but still falling short of international climate goals. Electricity generated from renewables continues to grow, largely due to solar and wind energy. As of 2022, renewables contributed nearly 30% of the world’s electricity. However, while regions like Latin America and the Caribbean have relatively high shares of modern renewable energy, Sub-Saharan Africa still depends heavily on traditional biomass, with modern renewable energy making up only 12% of total final energy consumption in the region.

The installed renewable energy capacity globally reached a record 478 watts per capita in 2023. However, disparities remain stark, with developed countries having 3.4 times more capacity per capita than developing nations. Sub-Saharan Africa lags significantly at only 40 watts per capita, indicating limited access to even basic energy services.

On energy efficiency, progress has been uneven. In 2022, the global primary energy intensity improved by 2.1%, a recovery from the 0.5% gain in 2021. To meet the SDG 7.3 target of doubling the improvement rate by 2030, the world must now achieve an annual improvement of about 4%. While some countries like China, France, and Germany are ahead in improving energy efficiency, many others are falling behind. Increased investment and stronger policies are essential to bridge this gap.

International public financial flows supporting clean energy in developing countries reached $21.6 billion in 2023, a 29% increase from the previous year. This rise is encouraging, especially given recent economic and geopolitical crises. Solar energy attracted the largest share of funding, with $9.44 billion, followed by wind and hydropower. However, most of this funding went to larger developing economies, while least-developed countries received a smaller share.

The report concludes that while progress is being made in various areas of SDG 7, it is uneven and insufficient to meet the 2030 targets. The global community must act faster and more inclusively, with a focus on mobilizing finance, supporting innovation, and strengthening policy commitments. Special attention is required for regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where both electricity and clean cooking access are far behind the global average. Universal energy access remains achievable, but only through sustained and equitable efforts.