Ecowas Key Energy Facts and Figures
Ecowas Key Energy Facts and Figures
Ecowas Key Energy Facts and Figures
Authors:
Salim M. CHITOU, NTU Senior expert in energy database and energy information
systems for ECOWAS
Emmanuel Wendsongré RAMDE, Team Leader - Senior Expert in Energy Policy and
Regulatory and Institutional Framework ECOWAS AGoSE-AO Programme
Reviewed by:
Bayaornibè DABIRE, Director of Energy and Mines, ECOWAS Commission
Arkadius KOUMOIN, Acting Principal Programme Officer, Conventional Energy, ECOWAS
Commission
Aitchath Nana TRAORE, Junior Expert in Administration and Program Management
ECOWAS AGoSE-AO Programme
Maps
The maps are for informational purposes only and do not constitute recognition
of international boundaries or regions; ECOWAS Commission makes no claims
concerning the validity, accuracy or completeness of the maps nor assumes any
liability resulting from the use of the information therein.
Source of data:
This document is based on the energy statistics provided by the national focal points
designated by the Ministries in charge of Energy in ECOWAS Member States and
compiled on the ECOWAS energy information system: website https://eis.ecowas.int.
DISCLAIMER:
This publication and the material it contains are provided “as is”, for informational
purposes. Neither DoEM nor any of its officials, agents, data providers or third party
content providers provide any warranty as to the accuracy of the information and
material featured in this publication, or as to the non-infringement of third party
rights, and they accept no responsibility or liability with regard to the use of this
publication and the material featured therein.
This publication was supported by the EUROPEAN UNION in the framework of the
Programme for the Improvement of the Energy Sector Governance in West Africa
(AGoSE-AO, Acronym in French), under the project entitled: "Technical Assistance
to ECOWAS for implementatin of the 11th EDF Energy Governance in West Africa
(AGoSE-AO)". The project is implemented by NTU International A/S.
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Final Consumption�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14
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Environmental Indicators�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������19
Evolution of the Main Energy Indicators in the ECOWAS Region between 2018 and 2021�������������������24
Figure 8: Final energy consumption by sector of activity and by type of energy in 2021�����������������������15
Figure 11: CO2 emissions by sector of activity and by type of energy in 2021 �����������������������������������������20
Figure 13: Atlas of electricity consumption per capita of ECOWAS in 2021 ���������������������������������������������25
Tables
Table 1:Total energy supply by country (ktoe) �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9
This publication from the ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines provides readers
with key figures of the energy sector within the ECOWAS region. The 2023 edition
provides data on energy supply, transformation, energy consumption, trade and
key environmental and sustainable development indicators up to the year 2021,
based on data made available by the Member States. The entire ECOWAS energy
system is summarised in the energy flow diagram.
ECOWAS KEY ENERGY FACTS and FIGURES is a summary of the statistics published
by the ECOWAS EIS via its website www.eis.ecowas.int.
The Directorate of Energy and Mines of ECOWAS hopes that this publication will
be useful for decision-makers, analysts, planners, private promoters, researchers,
academics and other stakeholders interested in the energy sector in West Africa
and beyond.
Bayaornibè DABIRE
Director of Energy and Mines,
ECOWAS Commission
ECOWAS energy supply includes biomass energy, crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, hydro-
electricity, mineral coal, solar and other renewable energies.
In 2021, the total energy supply in the ECOWAS region is estimated at 145,785 ktoe. This supply
is dominated by biomass energy which represents nearly 61% of the supplies. Hydroelectricity con-
tributes to nearly 1.4% of energy supplies to the ECOWAS region and imported electricity only 0.1%.
Between 2010 and 2021, total energy supply passed from 103,199 ktoe to 145,785 ktoe.
The biggest increase has been in photovoltaic solar energy, which has seen an average annual increase
of 48%, with electricity production rising from 18 GWh to 1,500 GWh by 2021.
the sum of Member States' supplies will be different from that of the region.
In 2021, natural gas was the primary source of electricity production (42%) in the ECOWAS region;
it is followed by petroleum products (37%) and hydroelectricity (19%). Photovoltaic solar represents
less than 1% in the production of electrical energy in ECOWAS.
Electricity generation (GWh)
In 2021, charcoal production was the main energy industry in the region, despite the use of other
cooking methods such as gas stoves.
The energy efficiency of charcoal production in the ECOWAS region is estimated at around 42% in 2021,
while in terms of mass, it is 19%. This means that to produce 19 kg of charcoal, 100 kg of firewood
were used.
Guinea, Liberia and Togo are the countries with the highest per capita charcoal production. In Niger,
carbonisation is not permitted, and in Cape Verde, charcoal production per capita is the lowest in the
region. Average charcoal production per capita in the region is 52 kg.
a) Energy sources
Total final consumption in ECOWAS in 2021 was 140 million toe of which
59% was biomass (wood, waste, charcoal), 33% petroleum products and
only 7% electricity. Natural gas accounted for less than 1% of total final
consumption.
Total final consumption in the ECOWAS region is dominated by the residential and transport sector.
Consumption for agriculture is marginal (0.2 %) and reflects the low productivity of agriculture in the
region. The share of industry falls below 10%.
Final energy consumption (ktoe)
Figure 8: Final energy consumption by sector of activity and by type of energy in 2021
Figure 9: Energy trade between ECOWAS and rest of the World in 2021
3.3% Between 2018 and 2021, the share of renewable energies in the
production of electrical energy increased by 3.3% per year.
The transport sector, particularly road transport, is the main source of CO2 emissions in ECOWAS. In
2021, the transport sector accounted for 46% of CO2 emissions.
Figure 11: CO2 emissions by sector of activity and by type of energy in 2021
Exchanges between Member States are not considered as ECOWAS supplies, and as a result the sum of Member
2
Continues >
3
Renewable Energy, solar, hydroelectricity, wind and other renewable energy sources
4
TES : Total Primary Energy Supply
Renewable Energy, solar, hydroelectricity, wind and other renewable energy sources
3
6
Energy flow diagram is a visualisation at scale of the energy system from the supply (upstream) to
the final consumption (downstream). It is derived from the energy balance.
Source: ECOWAS-EIS
Pro*
: Provisional
7
In 2020, some capacities have been demobilized
Final consumption: Energy available for consumption after removing energy losses.