Nigeria Energy Situation

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Nigeria

Capital:

Abuja

Region:

Coordinates:

8.0000° N, 10.0000° E

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

923,770

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

223,804,632 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

46 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

362,814,951,696 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

1,621.12 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

60.50 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

-93.03 (2014)

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

18.88 (2014)

Source: World Bank

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Introduction

Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The country has a surface of nearly 1 million km2 and a population of about 170 million growing at an average of 2% annually. The economy, heavily dependent on the export of oil products, grows at an average of 6% annually. The country enjoys a tropical climate in the south and central belt and an arid/semi-arid climate in the north. It is endowed with vast natural resources; oil and gas, solar (particularly in the north), hydropower (incl. 277 small hydro identified sites with a cumulative potential of 3,500 MW) and wind (mainly in the north and along the coastal line).

Energy Situation

According to the statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA), total Nigerian primary energy supply was 118,325 ktoe (excluding electricity trade) in 2011. As depicted in the figure below, biomass and waste dominated with 82.2%. Renewable energy sources only accounted for a small share of the energy supply. For instance hydropower only accounted for 0.4%. Wind and solar are also utilized, but at a negligible level at present.
Figure missing
Actually, biomass is the dominant energy source in Nigeria due to the fact that most of the country’s population use it for cooking. According to Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL), little progress has been made with regards to providing access to non-solid cooking fuels since 1990. As visible in the figure below, in 2010, only 26% of the population had access to non-solid cooking fuels with a big difference between urban and rural areas.
Figure missing
As per the chart below, in terms of the distribution of the energy demand, in 2011, the total final consumption was 108,947 ktoe, of which the residential sector accounted for most of the energy consumed.
Figure missing

Electricity

With a marginal share of 2% in the total final energy consumption, electricity remains a secondary source of energy in Nigeria. Only about 9% of the household’s total energy consumption which, as previously shown, is driven by the use of biomass.
As of 2008, there were a total of 4,747,870 registered customers connected to the distribution grid. Electricity consumption from residential and commercial sectors represented 80% of the total electricity demand. The rest was covered by the Industrial, Street Lighting and Special Tariff sectors. The share of large consumers, such as industry or large commercial areas, only represented 1% of the total electricity consumption. As shown in the graph below, compared to the other West African countries, Nigeria’s electrification rates are relatively high, but have progressed at a relatively slower pace. In 2010, electrification rates were at 48% and had only increased by 5% since the early 1990s.
Figure missing
As it can be seen in the figure below, the gap between rural and urban electrification rates is lower than in other West African countries, but remains significant (Rural: 35% and Urban: 62%).
Figure missing
Access rates also vary substantially amongst the states of Nigeria. For instance, according to the projections of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Taraba State had the lowest electrification rate in 2010 with 21% and Lagos the highest with 96%. Out of the 13 states that registered the lowest electrification rates, 10 were located in the North-West and North-East. The 8 states with the highest electrification rates were located in the South-West or South-South. The table below presents an overview of the state of electrification per state: