Published: October 27, 2026
Most electrified, in this ranking, means the largest share of people with access to electricity. The World Bank measures access as the percentage of a country's population that can use electricity. A score of 100% means every person counted in the data has access. It does not mean the power never goes out. Access and reliability are two different things.
Six African countries reach 100% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank data. They are Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, and Tunisia. No one of the six leads the others. They are tied at the top. They are listed here in alphabetical order only, so the order inside the tie does not imply a lead.
Below the six-way tie, Cabo Verde ranks seventh at 98.4%. Gabon follows at 95.1%. Ghana is ninth at 91.9%. Comoros takes tenth place at 91.7%. The top ten average is 97.7%. The gap from first to tenth is 8.3 percentage points, from 100% to 91.7%.
5 Key Facts
- Six African countries report universal electricity access at 100% in 2024: Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
- The six countries at 100% are tied. They are listed alphabetically, and no one of them leads the others.
- Cabo Verde ranks seventh at 98.4%, just 1.6 percentage points short of universal access.
- The top ten average is 97.7%. Comoros takes tenth place at 91.7%, which is 8.3 points below the 100% group.
- South Africa just misses the top ten. It ranks 11th at 90.2%, which is 1.5 points behind Comoros in tenth place.
The Ranking
| Rank | Country | Access to electricity (% of population, 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 100 |
| 2 | Egypt | 100 |
| 3 | Mauritius | 100 |
| 4 | Morocco | 100 |
| 5 | Seychelles | 100 |
| 6 | Tunisia | 100 |
| 7 | Cabo Verde | 98.4 |
| 8 | Gabon | 95.1 |
| 9 | Ghana | 91.9 |
| 10 | Comoros | 91.7 |
Stat in context: the top ten average of 97.7% sits far above the bottom of the African table. South Sudan, the lowest ranked country in the 2024 data, reports only 5.4% access. The gap between the top ten average and South Sudan is 92.3 points. For a different measure of how countries compare, see the safest countries in Africa in 2026, where Mauritius also ranks first, and the largest economies in Africa in 2026.
1. Algeria: 100%
Algeria reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is one of six countries tied at the top. Its place in this list is alphabetical, not a lead over the other five countries at 100%.
Algeria is a North African country. Four of the six countries at 100% are in North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The other two are island nations, Mauritius and Seychelles.
Universal access means the World Bank data counts every person in Algeria as having access. It does not, on its own, say how steady the supply is day to day. That limit applies to every country in this ranking.
2. Egypt: 100%
Egypt reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is tied with five other countries at the top. Its second place in this list reflects alphabetical order only.
Egypt is the most populous country in the tied group. Reaching 100% in a large country means the grid reaches a far larger number of people than in a small island state at the same percentage. The percentage alone does not show that scale, but the tie still holds on the measure used here.
Egypt also ranks first in Africa for fixed internet speed in the first half of 2026, on a separate Ookla measure. That is a different ranking, with a different metric, and it is not part of this electricity ranking.
3. Mauritius: 100%
Mauritius reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is tied with five other countries at the top. Its third place in this list reflects alphabetical order only.
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It also ranks first in Africa in the 2026 happiness ranking and first for safety in the 2026 Global Peace Index, as covered in the happiest countries in Africa in 2026 and the safest countries in Africa in 2026. Those are separate measures, and they do not decide this electricity ranking.
A small island grid can reach full coverage more easily than a large mainland grid. That context helps explain why island nations appear near the top, but it does not change the reported figure.
4. Morocco: 100%
Morocco reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is tied with five other countries at the top. Its fourth place in this list reflects alphabetical order only.
Morocco is a North African country. It is one of four North African countries in the tied group, along with Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia. The group therefore leans heavily to North Africa, with two island nations completing the six.
Morocco's 100% figure sits alongside its strong showing in other infrastructure rankings. Readers should still treat access as one measure only. A country can report full access while still facing supply gaps in some areas.
5. Seychelles: 100%
Seychelles reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is tied with five other countries at the top. Its fifth place in this list reflects alphabetical order only.
Seychelles is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It is the smallest country in Africa by population among the tied group. As with Mauritius, a compact island grid helps explain full coverage, but the reported figure is the same 100% as the larger countries in the group.
Seychelles also leads several other African Exponent rankings, including literacy and education measures. Those rankings use different data, and they do not affect this electricity figure.
6. Tunisia: 100%
Tunisia reports 100% access to electricity in 2024. It is the last of the six countries tied at the top. Its sixth place in this list reflects alphabetical order only.
Tunisia is a North African country. It completes the four country North African block in the tied group. The other two members of the group are Mauritius and Seychelles, both island nations.
Tunisia's 100% figure closes the tied group. The next country, Cabo Verde, falls short of the group by 1.6 points. That small gap is the closest any country comes to joining the 100% group without reaching it.
7. Cabo Verde: 98.4%
Cabo Verde ranks seventh at 98.4% access to electricity in 2024. It is the highest ranked country below the 100% group. It trails the tied group by 1.6 percentage points.
Cabo Verde is an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean. It leads Gabon, in eighth place, by 3.3 points. That gap is wider than the gap between Cabo Verde and the 100% group, which shows how close Cabo Verde is to universal access.
At 98.4%, Cabo Verde is the only country in the top ten that sits between 98% and 100%. Every other country below the tied group sits at 95.1% or lower.
8. Gabon: 95.1%
Gabon ranks eighth at 95.1% access to electricity in 2024. It trails Cabo Verde by 3.3 points. It leads Ghana, in ninth place, by 3.2 points.
Gabon is a Central African country. It is the only Central African country in the top ten. Its place shows that high access is not limited to North Africa and the island nations, even though those groups take eight of the top ten places between them.
Gabon sits 4.9 points short of universal access. That is a clear gap, but it is far smaller than the gaps at the bottom of the African table, where several countries sit below 25%.
9. Ghana: 91.9%
Ghana ranks ninth at 91.9% access to electricity in 2024. It trails Gabon by 3.2 points. It leads Comoros, in tenth place, by only 0.2 points.
Ghana is a West African country. It is the only West African country in the top ten. Its ninth place keeps West Africa in the ranking, even though the region's largest country by population, Nigeria, sits far lower at 62.5%.
The gap between Ghana and Comoros is the smallest gap in the top ten, at 0.2 points. A small data revision could swap ninth and tenth places in a future edition. Readers should treat Ghana and Comoros as effectively close, even though the published order puts Ghana first.
10. Comoros: 91.7%
Comoros ranks tenth at 91.7% access to electricity in 2024. It trails Ghana, in ninth place, by 0.2 points. It leads South Africa, in 11th place, by 1.5 points.
Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It is the third island nation in the top ten, along with Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cabo Verde, which makes four island nations in total in the top ten when Cabo Verde is counted.
Just outside the top ten, South Africa ranks 11th at 90.2%. South Africa is Africa's largest economy by the measure used in the largest economies in Africa in 2026. Its 11th place here shows that economic size does not lead straight to the highest access rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does most electrified mean in this ranking?
Most electrified means the largest share of the population with access to electricity. The measure is the World Bank indicator for access to electricity, expressed as a percentage of the population. A higher percentage means a larger share of people can use electricity. It does not measure how much electricity each person uses, or how steady the supply is.
Which African countries have 100% electricity access?
Six African countries report 100% access in 2024: Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, and Tunisia. They are tied at the top. No one of them ranks ahead of the others on this measure. They are listed alphabetically in this article for presentation only.
Why are six countries tied at first place?
All six report the same value, 100%, in the World Bank data for 2024. When countries report the same value, they tie. The article does not break the tie with a second measure, because that would mix two different rankings. Alphabetical order is used only to list the tied countries in a stable order.
How recent is the data in this ranking?
The data year is 2024. That is the latest year in the World Bank access to electricity dataset as retrieved on October 27, 2026. The World Bank dataset was last updated on October 8, 2026, in the API metadata. The ranking is published as a 2026 ranking because it is the current edition, but every figure in the table is a 2024 figure. That vintage is stated here so readers do not mistake the figures for 2026 measurements.
Does access to electricity mean the power never goes out?
No. Access counts whether people can use electricity. It does not count outages, or how steady the supply is. A country can report high access while still facing frequent outages in some areas. Readers who want a reliability ranking should look for outage data, which is a different measure from the access data used here.
Data Sources
- World Bank, indicator EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, "Access to electricity (% of population)", year 2024, all 54 African countries, retrieved October 27, 2026, dataset last updated October 8, 2026: World Bank API, access to electricity 2024.
- World Bank data portal page for the same indicator: World Bank, Access to electricity (% of population).
- Independent corroboration of the six universal-access countries in 2024, and of the low-end figures for South Sudan, Malawi, DR Congo, and Nigeria: Mapping Africa's energy wealth and 560 million who remain without power.
- Related African Exponent reading: safest countries in Africa in 2026; happiest countries in Africa in 2026; largest economies in Africa in 2026.
Methodology
Data vintage: World Bank access to electricity, year 2024. The dataset was retrieved on October 27, 2026, and its API metadata gives a last update date of October 8, 2026. No 2025 or 2026 access figures are used, because the World Bank dataset does not yet publish them for these countries. The article is a 2026 edition in the sense that it is published in 2026, but every ranking figure is a 2024 figure.
How the top ten was built: all 54 African countries with World Bank data for 2024 were ordered by access percentage, highest first. No country was missing data, and no figure was estimated. Countries tied at 100% are listed alphabetically, and that alphabetical order is a presentation choice only. It does not imply a lead within the tie. Totals in this article, such as the top ten average of 97.7% and the first to tenth gap of 8.3 points, are computed from the ten published figures.
What access is not: access is the share of the population that can use electricity. It is not a measure of consumption per person, generation capacity, or reliability. A country with high access can still have outages, and a country with lower access can still generate large amounts of power for industry or export. Those are different questions, and they are not ranked here.
Scope and limits: only the World Bank access indicator is ranked. No second source was blended into the table, and no country was moved up or down for any other reason. Regional counts in the country sections group countries by broad region for reading ease only, and they do not affect the ranking.
