Access to electricity is rising, generation remains partly hydro

In Gabon, electricity is now available to the great majority of the population. Yet World Bank data, and Ember and Energy Institute data published by Our World in Data, tell a two-speed story: almost complete urban coverage, rural areas long left behind, and a generation system whose hydropower share has fallen over twenty years.

Access is rising, mostly in cities

According to the World Bank, 73.6% of the population had access to electricity in 2000. The share passed 89% in 2010, then 90% in 2019, reaching 95.1% in 2024. This progress largely reflects urbanisation: more than nine in ten Gabonese now live in towns and cities (91.9% in 2024 according to the World Bank), where grids already exist.

In rural areas the series is more irregular and should be read with care, as it relies on infrequent surveys and modelled estimates. Rural access was estimated at 11.6% in 2000, around 18% to 23% between 2014 and 2019, then 29.0% in 2022 and 2023. The value published for 2024, 51.3%, is a break that other sources do not corroborate: in February 2026 the World Bank still cited rural access of 29% and urban access of 94% when presenting a new project to support water and electricity services.

Output doubled, then fell

Electricity generation, estimated by Ember and the Energy Institute, rose from 1,310 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2000 to 1,930 GWh in 2010, then to a high of 3,190 GWh in 2022. It then fell to 2,590 GWh in 2023 and 2,600 GWh in 2024, between its 2017 and 2018 levels. Set against a fast-growing population, this decline reduces the electricity available per person.

The hydropower share has declined

In the early 2000s hydropower supplied about 61% of the electricity generated. Its share fell to between 37% and 47% during the 2010s, then to 35.1% in 2023 and 35.0% in 2024. Other renewable sources remain marginal: the share of all renewables (35.4% in 2024) is barely above that of hydropower. The rest of generation, nearly two thirds, comes from thermal plants burning fossil fuels.

Combining the two series, hydropower output can be estimated at about 1,520 GWh in 2022 and 910 GWh in 2023, while thermal output stayed close to 1,670 to 1,680 GWh. The 2023 decline is therefore almost entirely in hydropower. The data alone cannot establish the cause, which may relate to hydrology, the condition of the plants or statistical revisions.

Clean cooking, a less visible gain

Access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, such as liquefied petroleum gas or electricity, follows a steady trend: 64.1% of the population in 2000, 80.5% in 2010 and 91.4% in 2023 according to the World Bank. Here too, the trend reflects the weight of cities: fewer and fewer households rely on firewood or charcoal for cooking.

Service quality and new projects

A high access rate does not guarantee a reliable service. The World Bank April 2026 Macro Poverty Outlook lists power cuts among the difficulties facing households and firms. In February 2026 the World Bank approved 150 million dollars of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) financing for a project on access to basic services and performance improvement, which targets the modernisation of water and electricity networks and about 535,000 beneficiaries.

On the generation side, the Kinguélé Aval dam in the Crystal Mountains is set to add 34.1 megawatts of hydropower capacity. According to a site visit report published in April 2025 by the French Treasury, the project is led by Asonha Énergie, owned 60% by the Meridiam fund and 40% by Gabon Power Company, and built by Sinohydro. Commissioning was then expected in the third quarter of 2026, to cover more than 10% of Libreville's electricity needs.

Key takeaways

• Access to electricity reached 95.1% of the population in 2024, but the gap between urban and rural areas remains wide.
• Generation fell after 2022 and the hydropower share went from about 61% in 2000 to 35% in 2024.
• New hydropower plants and grid investment will determine service reliability in the coming years.