The United Nations (UN) global energy progress report says 110.7 million Nigerians, out of a 195.8 million estimated population had access to electricity as of 2018.
The UN launched the report on Thursday.
The figure represents a 57 percent national electricity access rate.
This is way below the global average of 90 per cent. It is expected that Nigerians would argue that fewer than 57 percent have electricity access.
The report indicated an increase in the number of Nigerians with access by 34.6 million people from 76.1 million in 2010.
It noted that the world has made “promising progress’’ towards ensuring universal access to sustainable energy over the last decade.
The number of people without access to electricity dropped from 1.2 billion globally in 2010 to 789 million in 2018.
In Nigeria, the number of people without access increased from 82.4 million in 2010 to 85.2 million in 2018.
The UN said the world saw an improvement in renewable energy consumption from 16.3 per cent in 2010 to 17.3 per cent in 2018.
The report warned that unless efforts are stepped up significantly, an estimated 620 million people globally would remain without access to electricity in 2030.
“This number could become even higher with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it read.
The document titled “Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report’’, is published annually by custodian agencies of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK