Global access to electricity improved in 2025 compared to 2022, but the progress remains insufficient to achieve universal access by 2030. The report Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025 reveals that nearly 92 percent of the world’s population has basic access to electricity. However, more than 650 million people still lack this access.
In terms of clean cooking technologies, there has been progress, though at a slower pace than during the 2010s. This slowdown is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, energy price shocks, and the debt crisis, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
This report was published by the agencies responsible for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7): the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Decentralized Solutions for Rural Communities
Decentralized renewable energy sources, such as mini-grids and off-grid solar systems, offer cost-effective, rapid, and efficient solutions for delivering electricity to rural communities. This is particularly significant, as the majority of people without grid connection live in remote, unstable, and impoverished regions.
These solutions also support improved access to clean cooking. IRENA reports that about 1.5 billion people in rural areas still lack access to clean cooking technologies. Off-grid solutions, such as household biogas systems and mini-grids enabling electric cooking, can significantly reduce the negative health impacts of indoor air pollution. Over two billion people continue to use firewood and charcoal as primary cooking fuels. If the current trend continues, only 78 percent of the global population will have access to clean cooking by 2030.
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Regional Disparities in Electricity Access
Regional disparities remain pronounced, particularly in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, the average installed capacity of renewable energy per capita is only 40 watts, compared to over 1,100 watts per person in developed nations. This region is home to 85 percent of the global population without electricity access, and four out of five families lack access to clean cooking technologies.
The lack of affordable financing continues to hinder progress and deepen regional inequalities, the report emphasizes. Stronger international cooperation between the public and private sectors is needed, especially to support sub-Saharan Africa. Necessary measures include financing reforms, increased availability of public capital, concessional funding, grants, risk mitigation tools, and improved national planning and regulatory frameworks.
This report will be presented to policymakers on July 16, 2025, during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, which monitors progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
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