Least developed countries: UN classification: Access to electricity (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Least developed countries: UN classification's access to electricity (% of population) rose 1.93 percentage points on 2023 (from 58.43% to 60.37%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +1.66 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.03 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.8 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Access to electricity is the percentage of population with access to electricity. Electrification data are collected from industry, national surveys and international sources.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a population-weighted average.

All 25 values

Access to electricity (% of population) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 87.8% (2024)
• Algeria — 100% (2024)
• Bahrain — 100% (2024)
• Djibouti — 69.2% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 100% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 100% (2024)
• Iraq — 100% (2024)
• Israel — 100% (2024)
• Jordan — 100% (2024)
• Kuwait — 100% (2024)
• Lebanon

More environment data for Least developed countries: UN classification

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 32.86% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 13.73% (2025)
• Rural population — 769.36 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 63.36% (2025)
• Urban population — 444.81 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 36.64% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 5.26 million (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

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Questions people ask

What is Least developed countries: UN classification's access to electricity (% of population)?

60.37% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 40.14 percentage points from 20.23% in 2000. The highest value was 60.37% in 2024 and the lowest 20.23% in 2000.

Is the latest change in access to electricity (% of population) unusual for Least developed countries: UN classification?

In 2024, Least developed countries: UN classification's access to electricity (% of population) rose 1.93 percentage points on 2023 (from 58.43% to 60.37%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +1.66 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB), uri: https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/downloads, note: Data is downloaded from ESMAP website. Data is released when a new Tracking SDG7 report is released., publisher: World Bank (WB), date accessed: 2024-05-16, date published: 2023 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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