In 2023, Mali’s electricity supply totaled about 4.4 TWh: fossil sources provided 2.5 TWh, or roughly 57%, while low-carbon sources supplied about 1.9 TWh, or 43%. Hydropower accounted for about 1.6 TWh—nearly 38% of the total and most of Mali’s clean electricity. Electricity consumption was just 193 kWh per person, around 5% of the global average of 3,794 kWh per person, or roughly one-twentieth as much. Such low electricity availability can limit healthcare, education, irrigation, business activity, and digital services. Expanding clean electricity would help address these needs while reducing reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Mali?

Mali’s latest figures do not show growth in electricity consumption per person. The 2023 level of 193 kWh per person was 7 kWh, or about 4%, below the record of 200 kWh reached in 2022. Low-carbon electricity generation per person was also below its historical peak: 78 kWh in 2023 compared with 82 kWh in 2016, a shortfall of about 5%. These figures indicate disappointing stagnation in per-person electricity availability, although they do not by themselves establish whether total national consumption declined. Renewed growth, especially in clean electricity, is important for improving living standards and meeting future demand from electrification and digital development.

Suggestions

Mali should prioritize expanding solar electricity through large projects, rooftop systems, and local grids, alongside investment in transmission and storage. Relevant examples include South Africa, which generated 20 TWh from solar, and Pakistan, which generated 41 TWh; both offer useful reference points for scaling solar in sunny settings. India’s 192 TWh of solar generation also illustrates the potential of sustained deployment at scale. Wind could complement solar where local resource assessments identify suitable sites, drawing on South Africa’s 12 TWh of wind generation. Mali should also consider nuclear electricity as part of its long-term clean electricity strategy, including regional cooperation and the development of skilled institutions and grid infrastructure. South Africa’s 12 TWh and Pakistan’s 22 TWh of nuclear generation demonstrate its contribution in these relevant reference regions, while France’s 379 TWh illustrates how nuclear can underpin a substantial clean electricity supply.

History

Mali’s recorded low-carbon electricity history has largely been shaped by hydropower, with smaller additions from other sources. In 2000, biofuels generation increased by 0.1 TWh, while hydro was unchanged. Hydropower then grew by 0.2 TWh in 2005 and by 0.1 TWh in each of 2008 and 2009, with no change reported in 2004 or 2006. During the 2010s, notable hydro increases included 0.4 TWh in 2010, 0.3 TWh in 2014, and 0.4 TWh in 2016, alongside smaller gains and some reversals; hydro was unchanged in 2011. In the early 2020s, solar and hydro each added 0.1 TWh in 2020, solar remained unchanged in 2021, and hydro increased by 0.3 TWh in 2022 following a 0.1 TWh reduction in 2021. Overall, the record shows intermittent clean electricity gains rather than sustained expansion, highlighting the value of accelerating solar deployment and broadening Mali’s low-carbon electricity supply.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade