Ethiopia’s electricity access rose to 56.6% of population in 2024.

Higher is better. A higher share is better because each additional person with access can light a home, charge a phone, keep food cold and run a workshop or a classroom with power. The latest figure is 56.6% of population in 2024, up from 55.4% of population a year earlier, a gain of 1.2 percentage points. Since 2015 the share has ranged from 29% of population in 2015 to 56.6% of population in 2024, so the latest reading is the highest in that span. Access has therefore risen in the most recent year and across the whole period.

Why it matters. With 56.6% of population connected, a little under half of Ethiopians still live without electricity at home. Those households depend on other fuels for light and cooking and have little room to run appliances or small businesses. For firms and the state, each year of gains widens the pool of customers and workers who can use powered equipment, and the 1.2 percentage point rise in 2024 is the pace to check against the next annual reading.