Nigerians are the largest population in the world without access to electricity, a World Bank report tracking the energy distribution in several nations stated on Wednesday.

It noted that the West African nation topped the list for the third year.

The report, titled “Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2025,” placed Nigeria at the forefront of nations that lack access to electricity citing that over 86.8 million of its citizens were without power. The DRC with nearly 80 million Congolese without power supply ranked second, followed by Ethiopia where about 56 million citizens lack electricity.

“In 2023, the 20 countries with the largest electricity access deficits accounted for 76 per cent of the global total, up from 75 per cent in 2022. Once again, 18 of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa,” the World Bank wrote in the report released on Wednesday.

“For the third consecutive edition of this report, Nigeria (86.8 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (79.6 million), and Ethiopia (56.4 million) topped the list, together accounting for roughly a third of the entire global access deficit.”

Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu in April said that about 150 million Nigerians had access to electricity. He, however, stated that the “real challenge lies in the stability and affordability of electricity. That’s how we measure reliability. We must ensure that those who have access enjoy consistent and affordable power.”

“As it is today, Nigeria—a country with about 240 million people—has access for 150 million people already, while about 80 million lack access to adequate electricity in Nigeria,” Mr Adelabu said in April.