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Electricity generation in Africa: fossil still leads 2.5-to-1, but the gap is closing
  • Fossil fuels still generate 2.5x more electricity than non-fossil sources, though the gap has narrowed from a 2007 peak of 4.5x.
  • South Africa and Egypt together account for all of Africa's nuclear power and 59% of its non-hydro renewables.
  • Hydropower, the largest non-fossil source at 188.6 TWh, tells a different geographic story, with 91% generated outside South Africa and Egypt, mainly in Eastern, Middle, and Western Africa.
  • Gas still leads at 403.9 TWh, but its growth slowed to 0.8% in 2025 versus 11.9% growth for non-fossil sources.

Non-fossil generation overtook coal in 2023, and the gap has widened every year since
  • Non-fossil generation overtook coal in 2023, with the gap reaching 57.5 TWh in 2025.
  • Coal generation fell to 225.3 TWh, below its 262.6 TWh peak in 2007.
  • Hydropower dominates non-fossil generation, producing 188.6 TWh in 2025.
  • Fossil fuels still dominate, generating 703.2 TWh versus 282.8 TWh from non-fossil sources.

Egypt overtook South Africa's electricity generation in 2024 and extended its lead in 2025
  • Africa’s share of global electricity generation rose only from 2.6% in 1985 to 3.1% in 2025.
  • Africa’s electricity generation increased 283% over the past 40 years.
  • Egypt overtook South Africa as Africa’s largest electricity producer in 2024.
  • Egypt generated 242.4 TWh in 2025, up from 30.3 TWh in 1985.
  • South Africa generated 231.1 TWh in 2025, down from its 263.5 TWh peak in 2007.
  • Egypt and South Africa accounted for 24.5% of Africa’s electricity generation in 2025.

Nigeria retained Africa’s third-highest refinery throughput as output reached a record high in 2025
  • Nigeria recorded its highest refinery throughput since 1990 at 360,000 b/d.
  • Throughput increased by 50.6% from 239,000 b/d in 2024.
  • The 2025 level was more than 20 times the 17,600 b/d recorded in 2023.
  • Nigeria remained Africa’s third-highest, behind Algeria and Egypt.
  • Dangote’s contribution is not reported separately.

East African countries accounted for seven of the continent's 15 biggest electricity access gains in 23 years
  • Eswatini recorded Africa’s largest electricity access gain, rising by 66 percentage points from 2000 to 2023.
  • Kenya and Rwanda followed with gains of 61 pp and 58 pp, respectively.
  • East African countries accounted for 7 of Africa’s top 15 electricity access improvements.
  • Comoros, Ghana and Cape Verde reached very high access levels by 2023, at 90%, 90% and 99% respectively.
  • Nigeria’s electricity access improved by 18 percentage points, from 43% in 2000 to 61% in 2023.
  • Despite that improvement, Nigeria remained outside Africa’s top 15 gainers over the period.
  • Some countries were absent from the ranking because they had already reached high access levels by 2000.

Ibadan and Enugu DisCos together accounted for nearly two million unmetered customers
  • Nigeria still had about 5.25 million unmetered electricity customers across DisCos.
  • The 11 DisCos reported in Q4 2025 had 5.20 million unmetered customers.
  • Nigeria’s reported metering rate stood at 57.3% as of Q4 2025.
  • Ibadan and Enugu had the largest gaps, with nearly two million unmetered customers combined.
  • Ibadan alone had 1.18 million unmetered customers, the highest of any DisCo.
  • Ikeja and Eko had the strongest metering performance, both at about 86%.
  • At the 2025 pace of meter additions, closing the current gap could take close to seven years.

A 12.5kg cooking gas refill now costs over 6x what it did in 2016
  • A 12.5kg refill is now over 6x costlier than in 2016.
  • The April 2026 price reached ₦22.4k, up from ₦3.7k in January 2016.
  • Prices stayed fairly stable until 2021, then surged sharply.
  • Fresh reports suggest gas prices kept rising after April 2026.

Africa's only nuclear power plant is producing half its 2016 peak
  • South Africa’s Koeberg has been Africa’s only commercial nuclear power station since 1984.
  • Africa produced just 7.8 TWh of nuclear power in 2024, far below France’s 380 TWh and the US’ 823 TWh.
  • Egypt’s El Dabaa plant could change Africa’s nuclear map, adding 4,800 MW when completed.
  • Africa’s nuclear challenge is no longer just generation, but whether countries can finance, regulate, build, and sustain nuclear programmes.

Nigeria's domestic gas market is absorbing an increasing share of the country's gas output
  • Domestic share rose steadily from 34% in 2021 to 45% in 2025, gaining eleven percentage points in five years.
  • Export share fell from 66% to 55%, losing ground every year without a single recovery.
  • 2023 was the sharpest single-year shift; domestic share jumped seven points, from 36% to 43%.
  • The gap between export and domestic share has narrowed from 32 to just 10 points.

Nigeria's petrol prices have surged 40% since the US/Israel-Iran War
  • Nigeria recorded the largest petrol price increase in Africa, rising 39.5% between February 23 and March 16, 2026.
  • Egypt experienced a 14.3% increase, making it one of the largest price jumps in Africa.
  • Nigeria’s increase is more than double that of Egypt.
  • A number of African countries recorded very small price changes, including Tanzania (2.7%), Morocco (2.1%), and South Africa (1%).
  • A few countries actually saw declines in fuel prices, including Madagascar (-3.9%) and Zambia (-4.6%).
  • During the period, petrol prices remained unchanged in 28 African countries.

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