Access to electricity is widely seen as a cornerstone of sustainable development. It improves quality of life, enables household income generation, and raises living standards. Despite this, 760 million people around the world live without it.
The gap is largest in Africa. Eighty percent of people without electricity connections live in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural and hard to reach areas.
Malawi is a small, landlocked country with one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world. In 2023, only 16% of Malawians had access to electricity – and access was just 6% in rural areas.
