Mapping Africa’s energy wealth and 560 million who remain without power

Key Points:

• Africa possesses significant energy resources, including about 125 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, mainly in Libya and Nigeria, and nearly 18 trillion cubic metres of proven natural gas reserves concentrated in Nigeria, Algeria, Mozambique, Egypt, and Libya.
• The continent is a major global supplier of critical minerals for electric vehicles and renewable energy, producing over 70% of the world's cobalt and manganese, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo dominating cobalt production and South Africa leading in manganese.
• Renewable energy plays a crucial role in some African countries, with Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo generating all their electricity from renewables, primarily hydropower, while countries like Algeria and Libya have less than 5% renewable electricity generation.
• Electricity access across Africa is uneven, with six countries achieving universal access, but many others, including Nigeria and South Sudan, have large populations without electricity, especially in rural areas where traditional lighting methods are still common.
• The ongoing African Energy Week conference in Cape Town highlights the continent's focus on energy investment, finance, and efforts to end energy poverty, underscoring the importance of developing Africa's vast oil, gas, and mineral resources responsibly.