Mapping Africa’s energy wealth and 560 million who remain without power

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s visual explainer says Africa remains a major holder of global energy and mineral resources even as electricity access remains uneven across the continent. The article was published on October 13, 2026, alongside African Energy Week in Cape Town, where ministers, investors and oil executives were discussing energy investment, oil and gas, finance and efforts to reduce energy poverty.

The report maps Africa’s oil and gas reserves, noting large proven crude stocks in countries including Libya and Nigeria, and substantial natural gas holdings in Nigeria, Algeria and Mozambique. It also highlights the continent’s role in supplying minerals tied to batteries and clean energy technologies, especially cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, manganese from South Africa and Gabon, lithium from Zimbabwe, and graphite from Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania.

At the same time, the article stresses that energy wealth has not translated into broad access to power. It says six African countries had universal electricity access in 2024, while many others lagged far behind, including South Sudan and Malawi. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, had the largest number of people without electricity, and rural communities across the continent often still depend on kerosene lamps, candles or torches.

Al Jazeera also cites World Health Organization figures that more than 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity, accounting for most of the world’s total. The piece uses these contrasts to show why Africa’s energy future remains central to development, industrial growth and the global shift toward cleaner technologies.