In 2022, electricity consumption in Guinea-Bissau was just **38 kWh per person**, about 1% of the global average of 3,794 kWh per person—or roughly one hundred times lower. Reported low-carbon electricity generation was zero per person, indicating that clean electricity made no recorded contribution to domestic generation. However, no detailed electricity mix or import figures are supplied, so the fossil-fuel share of consumption cannot be established precisely. Such limited electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, refrigeration, water services and business activity, making expanded access to reliable, clean electricity a major development priority.

Is Electricity Growing in Guinea-Bissau?

The available figures do not show sustained electricity growth. Consumption in 2022 was **6 kWh per person below the record of 44 kWh reached in 2016**, a decline of about 14% from that peak. This comparison does not establish whether consumption rose or fell in the latest individual year, but it shows that the previous high had not been regained. Low-carbon generation also showed no improvement against its recorded benchmark: both the 2000 record and the 2022 figure were zero kWh per person. This stagnation is concerning given the need for more electricity to support development and future electrification.

Suggestions

Guinea-Bissau could prioritize solar installations for homes, public services and businesses, alongside larger solar projects, storage and stronger electricity networks. Among the listed regions, **South Africa offers a useful African reference**, generating 20 TWh from solar and 12 TWh each from wind and nuclear. Brazil, another Portuguese-speaking country, generated 88 TWh from solar and 110 TWh from wind, offering lessons in scaling clean electricity, although its system is much larger. Guinea-Bissau could adapt these experiences rather than copy their scale, assess suitable wind locations, and consider nuclear electricity through long-term planning and regional cooperation. South Africa’s nuclear experience illustrates how nuclear can complement solar and wind with steady low-carbon generation.

History

The supplied historical information is limited to the zero-per-person low-carbon benchmark in 2000 and the same reported figure in 2022. No year-by-year changes in generation are included, so it is not possible to describe developments by decade, identify individual projects, or establish whether generation changed between those endpoints. The available evidence therefore shows no recorded improvement in low-carbon electricity generation per person between these two benchmarks, highlighting the importance of building a stronger clean-electricity supply.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade