In 2023, Congo - Kinshasa consumed about 17.3 TWh of electricity, including 15.9 TWh of domestic low-carbon generation and 1.4 TWh of net imports. Hydropower supplied about 13.7 TWh, almost four-fifths of consumption, while solar provided 2.2 TWh, around 13%. Domestic clean electricity therefore covered roughly 92% of consumption; the imports’ generation sources are unspecified, and no fossil electricity generation is listed. Despite this strong low-carbon foundation, consumption was just 164 kWh per person—about 4% of the global average of 3,794 kWh, or roughly one twenty-third as much. Such limited electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, industry and household services, while making electrification and expanding digital infrastructure harder.

Is Electricity Growing in Congo - Kinshasa?

Electricity growth has not yet delivered a new per-person record. Consumption in 2023 was 164 kWh per person, just below the previous high of 165 kWh reached in 1980. Low-carbon generation stood at 150 kWh per person, around 8% below its 1989 record of 163 kWh. These comparisons do not establish whether total electricity consumption grew from the preceding year, but they show a worrying long-term shortfall in electricity available per person. Recent clean-generation additions are welcome, yet much faster expansion is needed to move decisively beyond historical levels and meet growing demand.

Suggestions

Congo - Kinshasa should build on its existing solar generation with more large solar projects, rooftop systems and local electricity networks, alongside stronger transmission and distribution infrastructure. South Africa offers a relevant regional reference, generating about 20 TWh from solar and 12 TWh each from wind and nuclear. Brazil, another large tropical country with substantial hydropower, generates about 88 TWh from solar and 110 TWh from wind, illustrating how these technologies can complement a hydro-based electricity system. Congo - Kinshasa should also consider developing nuclear electricity, drawing on experience from places such as Pakistan, which generates about 22 TWh from nuclear, and France, at around 376 TWh. These examples illustrate the scale achievable through sustained investment; local planning, workforce development and international partnerships would help turn that ambition into additional clean electricity.

History

Historically, the listed changes show hydropower driving Congo - Kinshasa’s low-carbon electricity expansion. Gains of about 0.4 TWh in 1985 and 0.6 TWh in 1989 were followed by an uneven 1990s: several increases were interrupted by declines, including a 1.1 TWh fall in 1997. Growth resumed with additions of about 0.7 TWh in 2000 and 0.9 TWh in 2004. The listed years in the 2010s show further gains, especially 2018 and 2019, when hydro generation increased by roughly 1.1 and 1.2 TWh respectively. Hydro added about 0.7 TWh in both 2020 and 2021, then another 0.5 TWh in 2023. Solar broadened this clean-electricity expansion with increases of about 1 TWh in 2021 and 1.1 TWh in 2022—an encouraging development that now needs sustained acceleration.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade