In 2023, electricity consumption in Gambia was about 190 kWh per person, just 5% of the global average of 3,853 kWh per person—roughly one-twentieth as much. Reported domestic low-carbon electricity generation was zero per person. However, no breakdown of fossil-fuel generation or imported electricity is supplied, so the exact clean and fossil shares of consumption cannot be established from these figures. Such low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, refrigeration, education and business activity, while limiting opportunities to electrify transport and other services.

Is Electricity Growing in Gambia?

Electricity consumption has not surpassed Gambia’s previous peak: the 2023 figure of 189 kWh per person was 5 kWh, or about 3%, below the record of 194 kWh reached in 2021. This indicates a retreat from the peak, although it does not establish whether consumption fell every year. Low-carbon generation also shows no progress in the supplied comparison: its latest reported level of zero kWh per person matches the record listed for 2000. This stagnation is concerning because Gambia needs substantially more clean electricity to support better living standards and future demand.

Suggestions

Gambia could prioritize solar electricity through grid-connected projects, rooftop installations and local electricity networks, supported by storage and stronger transmission and distribution. Among the reference regions, South Africa offers an African example, producing 19 TWh of solar electricity, while India’s 223 TWh illustrates large-scale deployment. These absolute totals are examples of deployment, not directly comparable national targets for Gambia. Wind could complement solar where local measurements demonstrate suitable resources. Nuclear should also be considered within long-term planning, including regional cooperation and potential access to nuclear-generated electricity through interconnected grids. South Africa’s 11 TWh and Pakistan’s 25 TWh of nuclear generation offer useful experience in developing reliable low-carbon electricity supplies.

History

The supplied historical information is too limited to describe Gambia’s low-carbon electricity development decade by decade: no year-by-year changes in generation were included. The available comparison shows only that reported low-carbon generation per person was zero in both the 2000 record and 2023; it does not establish what happened in every intervening year. Consequently, no specific periods of expansion or decline can be identified reliably. What is clear is the need to move beyond the latest reported zero level and build a growing clean electricity supply.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade