Guinea-Bissau’s electricity access rose to 43.7% 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. The latest figure is 43.7% of population in 2024, up from 40.5% a year earlier, a gain of 3.2 percentage points. Since 2015 the series has ranged from a low of 20.1% of population in 2015 to a high of 43.7% of population in 2024. The current reading is therefore the best in that span, at more than double the level of 2015.

Why it matters. At 43.7%, a large part of the population in Guinea-Bissau still has to rely on candles, torches, kerosene or small private generators for light and power. Shops, small manufacturers and clinics without a connection pay for their own fuel and equipment, which raises their running costs. For the state, each further percentage point of access means extending the grid or local supply to more homes, and the rise since 2015 shows that this extension is under way.