Number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Number of people with and without electricity access was 24.59 million people in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 24.59 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and up 132.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 24.59 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.38 million people, in 2000.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 49th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.38 million people | — |
| 2001 | 3.70 million people | +9.4% |
| 2002 | 4.14 million people | +11.8% |
| 2003 | 4.59 million people | +11.0% |
| 2004 | 5.13 million people | +11.7% |
| 2005 | 3.53 million people | -31.3% |
| 2006 | 6.18 million people | +75.3% |
| 2007 | 9.50 million people | +53.6% |
| 2008 | 7.47 million people | -21.3% |
| 2009 | 8.17 million people | +9.4% |
| 2010 | 8.91 million people | +9.1% |
| 2011 | 9.71 million people | +8.9% |
| 2012 | 11.28 million people | +16.2% |
| 2013 | 11.52 million people | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 10.58 million people | -8.1% |
| 2015 | 13.45 million people | +27.1% |
| 2016 | 14.52 million people | +8.0% |
| 2017 | 15.68 million people | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 16.84 million people | +7.4% |
| 2019 | 17.75 million people | +5.4% |
| 2020 | 19.29 million people | +8.7% |
| 2021 | 20.62 million people | +6.9% |
| 2022 | 22.02 million people | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 23.38 million people | +6.2% |
| 2024 | 24.59 million people | +5.2% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 24.59 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 10.26 million people, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 24.59 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.45 million people, 4.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +75.3% | 3.53 million people | 6.18 million people |
| 2007 | +53.6% | 6.18 million people | 9.50 million people |
| 2005 | -31.3% | 5.13 million people | 3.53 million people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.58 million people | 3.38 million people | 9.50 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.02 million people | 8.91 million people | 17.75 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.98 million people | 19.29 million people | 24.59 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More energy & mining data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 0.4362 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fuel imports 19.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Number of people with and without electricity access in Democratic Republic of Congo was 24.59 million people in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people with and without electricity access recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 24.59 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest number of people with and without electricity access recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.38 million people in 2000.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for number of people with and without electricity access?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 49th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people with and without electricity access rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 132.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people with and without electricity access. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Access to electricity means having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.