Map of Africa’s major infrastructure

The French news publication, Le Monde Diplomatique, recently published a map showing major infrastructure, particularly energy, in Africa.

The image shows how infrastructure in Africa is growing rapidly, but is still largely concentrated in coastal regions and those with large mineral deposits. This means that rural and isolated populations often do not have access to modern energy and the benefits that it can bring.

In fact, only 30.5 percent of the total sub-Saharan population and only 14.3 percent of the rural population have access to electricity. Energy provision has been identified as a requirement to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore greater energy infrastructure and off-grid renewables are needed to bring power to isolated regions and help push on towards the Millennium Development Goals before 2015.