This Pocketbook represents the end of this cycle of data collection, verification and publication. The selection of 16 African countries for the power survey was chosen to serve as a representative sample. The data published in this report covers the period 2015-2018.

The publication of the report, which had been planned for 2020, was postponed due to the pandemic situation, which caused considerable delays in data collection in the countries. The diverse mix of nations included the very large to the very small, in different areas of the continent, and with economies at various degrees of complexity.

Despite the differences in the size, geographical location and economic development of the selected countries, some common themes emerge. These relate to the level of development of their power sectors and concomitant issues such as investment shortfalls and rehabilitation requirements, as well as rural/urban differences in accessibility to grids.

The commonality of shared issues and challenges open the discussion on how to improve the generation, transmission and distribution of energy not only in the selected countries but across the whole continent. A separate pressing issue is how to increase the availability of data related to the power sector, in order to identify those areas that require immediate improvement and investment in order to scale up production in both rural and urban areas.

Report by AfDB