Nigeria has the largest population without access to electricity globally, with 86.8 million people lacking supply as of 2023, according to the World Bank’s latest energy progress report.

The report, titled “Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2025,” was released on Wednesday and assesses progress made toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which focuses on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.

This marks the third consecutive year that Nigeria has ranked as the country with the highest electricity access deficit worldwide.

The report also shows that only 61 per cent of Nigeria’s population had access to electricity in 2023, while just 26 per cent had access to clean cooking energy.

“Nigeria (86.8 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (79.6 million), and Ethiopia (56.4 million) topped the list, together accounting for roughly a third of the entire global access deficit,” the World Bank said.