Burundi’s electricity consumption was just 36 kWh per person in 2023—less than 1% of the global average of 3,853 kWh per person, or roughly one hundredth as much. Domestic low-carbon electricity generation was 20 kWh per person. These figures measure different things—consumption and generation—so the remaining consumption cannot automatically be classified as fossil electricity; a breakdown of fossil generation and electricity imports would be needed. Such limited electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, irrigation and business activity, while making it harder to support electrification and growing digital demand.

Is Electricity Growing in Burundi?

The latest figures do not show Burundi reaching new heights in electricity availability. Consumption in 2023 was 4 kWh per person below its 2019 record of 40 kWh, a decline of about 10% from that peak. Low-carbon generation was also below its record: 20 kWh per person compared with 22 kWh in 2020, roughly 9% lower. These comparisons do not establish whether electricity grew in the latest individual year, but they do show a worrying failure to surpass earlier per-person records. Burundi needs sustained growth in clean electricity to expand access and support economic development.

Suggestions

Burundi could prioritize solar installations, including village mini-grids and systems serving schools, clinics and businesses, alongside stronger grids and regional interconnections. South Africa offers a relevant African example, generating 19 TWh of solar electricity and 11 TWh each from wind and nuclear in the supplied comparison. India’s 223 TWh of solar generation also offers lessons in expanding deployment across communities with different electricity needs. Burundi could assess wind development where local measurements support it and consider nuclear electricity within long-term national or regional planning, building technical expertise and institutional capacity. France’s 373 TWh of nuclear generation illustrates the substantial contribution nuclear can make to a clean electricity system. These examples offer approaches to adapt, rather than generation targets Burundi should simply copy.

History

The historical data show little recorded change in Burundi’s low-carbon electricity generation across the listed years. Hydropower registered zero year-to-year change in the early 1990s, throughout the reported stretches of the 2000s and early 2010s, and again from 2017 through 2021. Biofuels in 2011 and solar in 2016 likewise recorded zero change. These entries describe changes rather than generation levels, so they do not mean those sources produced no electricity; small changes may also be hidden by rounding. Nevertheless, the repeated absence of recorded increases underscores the need for a stronger expansion of clean electricity, particularly solar, complemented by long-term consideration of nuclear.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade