Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD): Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) rose 2.1 percentage points on 2019 (from 68.17% to 70.27%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0.09 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.1 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.12 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

Renewable energy consumption is the share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption.

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

All 31 values

Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 20% (2022)
• Algeria — 0.1% (2021)
• Bahrain — 0% (2021)
• Djibouti — 26.9% (2022)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 6.1% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.9% (2021)
• Iraq — 1.1% (2021)
• Israel — 6.2% (2021)
• Jordan

More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 25.39% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 16.33% (2025)
• Rural population — 731.42 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 55.34% (2025)
• Urban population — 590.23 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 44.66% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 904,661 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 8.8 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)?

70.27% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 0.45 percentage points from 70.72% in 1990. The highest value was 73.69% in 1994 and the lowest 67.63% in 2014.

Is the latest change in renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) rose 2.1 percentage points on 2019 (from 68.17% to 70.27%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0.09 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser, publisher: International Energy Agency (IEA), date accessed: 2025-03-25 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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