In 2023, Congo–Kinshasa consumed about 17.3 TWh of electricity, including roughly 15.9 TWh of domestically generated low-carbon electricity and 1.4 TWh of net imports. Hydropower supplied about 13.7 TWh and solar another 2.2 TWh: together, clean domestic generation covered more than nine-tenths of consumption. No fossil electricity generation is reported in the supplied figures, although the imports’ generation sources are unspecified. Electricity consumption was just 164 kWh per person, compared with the global average of 3,794 kWh—only about 4% of that average. Such limited electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, industry and household living standards, making substantial growth in clean electricity essential.

Is Electricity Growing in Congo - Kinshasa?

Electricity consumption per person is effectively stagnant relative to its historical peak. The 2023 figure of 164 kWh per person was slightly below the previous record of 165 kWh in 1980. Low-carbon generation per person was also below its historical best: 150 kWh in 2023, compared with 163 kWh in 1989, a shortfall of about 8%. These comparisons do not establish whether total electricity consumption grew year to year, but they show that recent generation gains have not delivered record electricity availability per person. This is concerning given the need to expand access and support increasing demand from electrification, economic development and digital services.

Suggestions

Congo–Kinshasa should expand its existing solar generation alongside its substantial hydropower base, investing in grids and local electricity systems that bring clean power to more people. South Africa offers a relevant regional example, generating about 20 TWh from solar, while tropical Brazil generates about 85 TWh; their experience can inform larger solar deployment. Suitable locations could also be assessed for wind, drawing lessons from South Africa’s roughly 12 TWh of wind generation. Nuclear should be considered as a complementary source of dependable low-carbon electricity: South Africa generates about 12 TWh from nuclear, and Pakistan about 22 TWh. Learning from these regions’ project development, workforce training and electricity-system planning could help Congo–Kinshasa build a much larger, diversified clean electricity supply while avoiding fossil-fuel air pollution and climate impacts.

History

The supplied history shows that hydropower drove most earlier changes in low-carbon electricity generation. Selected gains in the late 1980s ranged from about 0.4 to 0.6 TWh annually, while the 1990s were uneven: increases of up to 0.9 TWh were interrupted by declines, including a 1.1 TWh fall in 1997. Growth resumed with increases of about 0.7 TWh in 2000 and 0.9 TWh in 2004. The listed years of the 2010s show further progress, particularly in 2018 and 2019, when hydropower rose by roughly 1.1 and 1.2 TWh respectively. Hydropower added about 0.7 TWh in both 2020 and 2021, and another 0.5 TWh in 2023. Solar then made an encouraging contribution, increasing by 1 TWh in 2021 and 1.1 TWh in 2022—a promising foundation for faster clean electricity expansion.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade