In 2023, Burkina Faso’s electricity supply relied heavily on net imports of about 1.6 TWh and fossil-fuel generation of about 1.4 TWh. Domestic low-carbon generation provided only about 9% of electricity consumed, while imports supplied roughly half and fossil fuels around two-fifths; the data do not identify whether imported electricity was clean or fossil-based. Total consumption was just 144 kWh per person—less than 4% of the global average of 3,794 kWh, or about 26 times lower. Such limited electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, irrigation and business activity, while making it harder to meet future demand from electrification and digital services.

Is Electricity Growing in Burkina Faso?

Electricity consumption per person is not currently setting new records in Burkina Faso. The 2023 figure of 144 kWh was 3 kWh, or about 2%, below the previous peak of 147 kWh in 2021. Domestic low-carbon electricity generation also remained below its record: 13 kWh per person in 2023, compared with 14 kWh in 2021, a decline of roughly 7%. These figures show a disappointing loss of momentum in per-person electricity availability and clean generation, although they do not establish whether total national consumption declined.

Suggestions

Burkina Faso should prioritize expanding solar electricity through both grid-connected projects and local systems, supported by stronger networks and storage. Among relevant examples, South Africa generated about 20 TWh of solar electricity, while sunny Pakistan generated about 41 TWh and India about 205 TWh. Their experience can inform procurement, workforce training and deployment, with projects adapted to Burkina Faso’s needs rather than copied at their original scale. Wind could complement solar where local resource assessments support it; South Africa’s roughly 12 TWh of wind generation offers another useful reference. Burkina Faso should also consider nuclear electricity within its long-term clean-power planning and regional cooperation, learning from South Africa’s approximately 12 TWh and Pakistan’s 22 TWh of nuclear generation. Together, solar and nuclear could support much greater electricity availability while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and their associated air pollution and climate impacts.

History

The supplied history shows intermittent additions to Burkina Faso’s low-carbon electricity generation rather than sustained growth. Hydropower increased by about 0.1 TWh in both 1996 and 1999, followed by no reported change in the listed years of the 2000s and early 2010s. Another hydropower increase of about 0.1 TWh arrived in 2016. In 2018, solar and biofuels each added about 0.1 TWh of low-carbon electricity generation. Subsequent listed entries show no reported hydropower change in 2019 or 2021–2023, and no biofuel change in 2020. These scattered gains are welcome, but the long stretches without reported additions underline the need for a more sustained expansion of clean electricity, especially solar.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade