The Ledger · Entry 08
Nearly everyone on Earth now has electricity
Share of the world with access to electricity
Electricity is the quiet floor under almost everything else: refrigerated vaccines, light to study by, a pump for clean water. In a single generation the share of people with it climbed from under three quarters to more than nine in ten.
The key rows
The last unconnected people are the hardest and most expensive to reach, often rural and poor. But the gap has never been smaller.
Asked often
What share of the world has electricity?
About 91.6% of the world had access to electricity as of 2023, up from 73.2% in 1998.
Is electricity access still improving?
Yes. The share reached 91.6% in 2023, the highest on record, though the remaining unconnected people are the hardest to reach.
The world also got better today.
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