DR Congo was Africa's highest charcoal producer in 2023, with charcoal output containing 274.62 PJ of energy

Key takeaways:

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the highest charcoal-producing country in Africa with 274.62PJ (petajoules) of charcoal produced in 2023.
  • Nigeria is the ninth country on the list, with 43.76PJ.
  • The total amount of charcoal produced in Africa in 2023 was 1,367.26PJ.
  • Africa claims 69.2% of the total quantity of charcoal produced globally.

Charcoal, a solid biofuel derived from organic, renewable biomass sources, is a vital source of heat energy. In Sub-Saharan African countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, over 60% of households rely on charcoal as a primary cooking fuel.

In 2023, Africa produced 1,367.26PJ of charcoal, making up 69.2% of the total quantity produced globally. The Democratic Republic of Congo produced over 20% of Africa's total output. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, charcoal is a critical source of heat energy and income, especially in urban and peri-urban areas. Over 90% of urban households in the cities like Kinshasa, Goma, Kisangani, and Bunia rely on charcoal for cooking due to unstable/unreliable electricity, easy storage and transportation.

Nigeria produced over 3% of Africa's total charcoal output, ranking it the 9th highest charcoal-producing country in Africa. It can be seen that although DRC and Nigeria are both Sub-Saharan African countries, they have varying values of production due to demand and percentage of usage.

Source:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Period:

2023
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