In 2022, electricity consumption in Kiribati was about 307 kWh per person, compared with the global average of 3,794 kWh per person—only about one-twelfth as much. Low-carbon electricity accounted for about 77 kWh per person, or a quarter of the total, leaving roughly three-quarters supplied by fossil fuels. Solar already provides an important clean electricity foundation, but overall electricity availability remains very low. Such limited supply can constrain healthcare, refrigeration, education, water services and business development. Expanding clean electricity would help meet these needs while reducing dependence on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Kiribati?

Electricity consumption in Kiribati has not maintained its previous peak. The 2022 total of 307 kWh per person was 16 kWh below the record of 323 kWh reached in 2019—a decline of about 5%. Low-carbon electricity generation per person also fell about 5%, from its 2019 record of 81 kWh to 77 kWh in 2022. These figures show a disappointing retreat from earlier per-person records, rather than sustained growth. They do not, by themselves, establish whether total national generation declined, because population changes also affect per-person figures.

Suggestions

Kiribati should prioritize expanding its existing solar generation, supported by battery storage and stronger island electricity networks. Australia, with 58 TWh of solar generation, offers a geographically relevant example, while island regions such as Japan and Taiwan generated 105 TWh and 18 TWh respectively from solar. Their experience can inform deployment, although their much larger electricity systems mean that absolute output is not a suitable target for Kiribati. Nuclear should also be considered in long-term clean electricity planning: France generated 376 TWh from nuclear, and the United Arab Emirates generated 32 TWh, illustrating its contribution to substantial low-carbon supply. For Kiribati, a sensible recommendation is to build nuclear expertise through international partnerships and assess future technologies against local electricity needs, while advancing solar expansion now.

History

From 2019 through 2022, every listed annual change in Kiribati’s solar generation was recorded as zero TWh. At the precision provided, this indicates no measurable year-to-year increase across those four years, rather than an absence of solar generation. Because Kiribati’s electricity system is small, rounded TWh figures may conceal modest changes. Nevertheless, the record provides no evidence of substantial solar growth during this period. A stronger expansion of clean electricity would help move Kiribati beyond this apparent stagnation and raise electricity availability per person.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade