Burundi’s electricity consumption in 2023 was just 36 kWh per person, compared with a global average of 3,794 kWh—less than 1% of the global level. Domestic low-carbon electricity generation amounted to 20 kWh per person, equivalent to a little more than half of consumption. The figures supplied do not identify the remaining supply, so it cannot all be classified as fossil electricity: imports may also contribute. Such extremely low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, business activity and access to refrigeration, communications and other essential services. Expanding clean electricity would help improve living standards and support electrification and economic growth.

Is Electricity Growing in Burundi?

The latest figures show Burundi falling short of its previous per-person electricity records rather than reaching new highs. Consumption in 2023 was 4 kWh per person below the 2019 record of 40 kWh—about a 10% decline from that peak. Low-carbon generation was also below its record, reaching 20 kWh per person compared with 22 kWh in 2020, a decline of roughly 9%. These comparisons do not establish whether electricity increased or decreased in every intervening year, nor whether total national generation grew. Nevertheless, the failure to regain earlier per-person highs is concerning given Burundi’s substantial need for more electricity.

Suggestions

Burundi should prioritize expanding solar electricity through household systems, mini-grids and grid-connected projects, alongside stronger transmission, distribution and storage. South Africa provides a useful African reference, with around 20 TWh of solar generation, while Pakistan’s roughly 41 TWh illustrates solar’s contribution in another developing economy. Burundi could also assess suitable wind locations, drawing lessons from South Africa’s 12 TWh of wind generation. Nuclear electricity should be considered in long-term national and regional planning: South Africa generates around 12 TWh from nuclear, while Pakistan generates about 22 TWh. These examples offer lessons in developing technical skills, institutions and infrastructure for sustained clean electricity expansion, rather than production targets Burundi should immediately match.

History

The supplied historical entries show little recorded change in Burundi’s low-carbon electricity generation. Hydropower changes were reported as zero in the early 1990s, across several years in the 2000s, and repeatedly from 2010 through 2021. Biofuels in 2011 and solar in 2016 also registered zero year-on-year change. These figures describe changes, not generation levels: they do not mean those sources produced no electricity, and rounded values may conceal small increases or decreases. Although the record is incomplete, the repeated absence of visible gains underscores the need for a much stronger, sustained expansion of clean electricity.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade