The electrification trend began to accelerate in 2015. An additional 153 million people were electrified yearly between 2015 and 2017, at an annual rate of more than 1 percentage point. The momentum remained uneven across regions difficult to reach populations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where many remain without access. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the largest access deficit 573 million people more than one in two lack access to electricity. The region is also home to the 20 countries with the lowest electrification rates. Burundi, Chad, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Niger were the four countries with the lowest electrification rates in 2017.

To realize the significant cost savings to be gained from improved energy efficiency, more needs to be done. Concerted policy efforts, technology change, and changes in economic structure will contribute to improving global primary energy intensity. The rate of improvement in global primary energy intensity is also influenced by supply-side factors chief among them efficiency in fossil fuel generation and reductions in the losses incurred in the transmission and distribution of electricity. The population without access to clean cooking solutions totaled almost 3 billion in 2016 and was distributed across both Asia and Africa. The widespread use of polluting fuels and technologies for cooking continues to pose serious health and socioeconomic concerns.