
Democratic Republic of the Congo: 99.76%
Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, has a land area of more than 900,000 square miles, making it the largest country in this list and the second largest in Africa. Similar to Ethiopia, DR Congo is home to a vast system of waterways, including the Congo river, the third largest river in the world, behind only the Amazon and Ganges, making hydroelectric dams the predominant source of electricity.
Using the rapids from the Inga Falls at the western part of the country, two hydroelectric dams have been built, which generates nearly 1,800 megawatts of installed capacity combined. There have also been attempts to build solar projects in the eastern region of Kivu, and its projected output can provide electricity for 10 million people by 2030.
However, access to electricity for many Congolese has continued to be challenging for many people in Congo, which is classified as a least developed country by the United Nations. Only 19% of the country’s population have access to electricity, with only 1% of the rural population having access to it. A report from the environmental organization International Waters claimed that the Inga Dams did not provide power grid access to local communities, but to power the mineral mines, which is the largest source of export for the country.