In 2023, Vanuatu’s electricity consumption was about **250 kWh per person**, compared with a global average of about **3,800 kWh per person**—roughly fifteen times higher. Low-carbon electricity generation amounted to about **62 kWh per person**, equivalent to around a quarter of consumption. The remaining three-quarters are not broken down by source in the supplied figures, so their fossil-fuel contribution cannot be confirmed. Such low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, refrigeration, business development and digital services, while making it harder to electrify transport and other activities.

Is Electricity Growing in Vanuatu?

Vanuatu’s latest figures do **not indicate growth relative to its historical peaks**. Electricity consumption in 2023 was about 59 kWh per person below the 2019 record of 308 kWh per person—a decline of roughly one-fifth. Low-carbon generation was about 40 kWh per person below its 2019 record of 103 kWh per person, a drop of around two-fifths. These setbacks are concerning: Vanuatu needs more clean electricity to support development and future demand from electrification and expanding digital services. These comparisons establish a decline from the records, rather than showing whether electricity increased or decreased in every intervening year.

Suggestions

Vanuatu should prioritize **expanding its existing solar generation**, alongside battery storage, stronger local grids and solar-powered systems serving its islands. Nearby Australia, with about 57 TWh of solar electricity, offers a useful regional example, while tropical Vietnam and Thailand generate about 21 TWh and 11 TWh respectively from solar. Their experience can inform deployment and grid integration, although their electricity systems are much larger than Vanuatu’s. Wind could also complement solar where local measurements show suitable conditions, drawing lessons from Australia’s approximately 43 TWh of wind generation. Nuclear should be included in longer-term clean-electricity planning and technical cooperation: France’s roughly 379 TWh and South Korea’s 160 TWh demonstrate its contribution to dependable low-carbon electricity. Vanuatu can study emerging smaller-scale nuclear options while assessing their suitability for its electricity needs.

History

The supplied historical series records **zero year-to-year changes at the reported TWh precision**, rather than demonstrating that generation itself was zero. From 2013 through 2016, all listed wind changes were zero, and wind again recorded zero changes in 2019 and 2020. Hydro and solar likewise show zero reported changes in 2018 and every year from 2019 through 2023. Because Vanuatu has a small electricity system, this coarse reporting may conceal changes that matter locally; it does not establish that output was completely unchanged. Nevertheless, the lower per-person clean-electricity figure in 2023 compared with the 2019 peak underscores the need for renewed expansion, especially solar.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade