Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the second largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 100 million inhabitants, 80% of whom live in rural areas.

Ethiopia’s National Electrification Program (2017) sets out to achieve 100% electrification by 2025, while extending the grid to reach 96% grid connections by 2030. The country is currently heavily reliant on hydropower, and the government’s plans to increase capacity to 13.5 GW by 2040 would make Ethiopia the second-largest hydro producer in Africa.

In terms of energy access, the country has made significant progress over the years. Ethiopia has achieved connecting 33 % of its population with on-grid and 11 % with off-grid solutions - mostly mini-grids and solar PV systems - totaling 44%.

Although substantial progress has been made in recent years Ethiopia still needs electricity for more than half of its population (56 %). In addition, 90% of the population still relies on biomass for cooking, and enhancing access to clean cooking technologies remains a policy priority for the Ethiopian government.

In order to improve the critical energy access challenges, the country is planning to expand its energy access through a combination of grid (65%) and off-grid (35%) energy systems. Off-grid electricity is embedded in national electrification efforts, but more needs to be done to understand how community-led forms of energy provision can support electrification efforts.

You can find out more about Ethiopia's energy situation in our open access country report which you can dowload below.