Less than 50 per cent of Africans report reliable electricity access, and Nigeria ranks among the countries where citizens have the lowest confidence in their government’s performance in the sector, according to a recent Afrobarometer report.
According to the pan-African research network, the survey was conducted across 38 African countries to assess electricity access and citizens’ views on government policies on the issue between 2024 and 2025.
The report found that only 43 per cent of respondents said they enjoyed a supply of electricity that worked “most” or “all” of the time in the year under review, including just 26 per cent of rural residents and 27 per cent of poor citizens.
In Nigeria, only 10 per cent of households reported having electricity that worked every time under President Bola Tinubu between 2024 and 2025; 53 per cent said it worked occasionally, while 37 per cent had no connection to the grid.
Madagascar (nine per cent), Sierra Leone (eight per cent), Guinea (seven per cent), Mali (six per cent), Zambia (four per cent), and Chad (three per cent) were the other countries with worse electricity reliability than Nigeria during the period.
Mauritius, Seychelles, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cape Verde ranked highest on the continent, with more than 80 per cent of households having a reliable electricity supply.
The study also revealed that Nigeria ranked joint last among 38 countries in assessments of government performance in providing a reliable electricity supply. Only one in eight Nigerians, or 12 per cent, gave Mr Tinubu pass marks for his government’s performance on electricity.
Overall, only 45 per cent of respondents said their government is performing “fairly well” or “very well” on providing a reliable electricity supply, while 54 per cent said it was doing a poor job.
Mauritius (92 per cent), Morocco (84 per cent), Seychelles (80 per cent), and Botswana (75 per cent) stood out with high approval ratings.
Additionally, about seven in 10 Africans (72 per cent) live in areas served by an electric grid, ranging from just 29 per cent in Chad to 100 per cent in Tunisia, Mauritius, Eswatini and Cape Verde. Nigeria recorded 67 per cent.
