Economy

This layer represents the estimated travel time (in hours) by foot to the nearest primary school. The accessibility map is generated using a well-established geospatial methodology that integrates road and rail networks, land cover, and topographic features. The resulting gridded "friction surface" represents the time required to traverse each ~1 km × 1 km pixel of Africa.

This layer represents the estimated travel time (in hours) by foot to the nearest healthcare facility. The underlying methodology is described in Weiss et al. (2020), which leverages major data collection efforts from OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, and academic sources to compile the most comprehensive global inventory of healthcare facility locations to date. The approach is based on the creation of friction surfaces that quantify the time required to traverse each ~1 km × 1 km pixel of the Earth's surface.

Access to piped water reflects the availability of improved water sources directly delivered to households. This layer shows the percentage of people with access to piped water in 2017. Low coverage may signal the need for targeted interventions, potentially supported by decentralized energy systems to power water pumping and distribution.

This layer shows the percentage of stunting among children under 5 years of age, a form of chronic undernutrition reflected in low height-for-age. Stunting can result from prolonged food insecurity, poor maternal health, or inadequate early childhood care. Areas with high stunting rates indicate long-term development challenges and can help guide interventions aimed at improving nutrition, health services, and water and sanitation infrastructure.

Water Footprint in Africa, considered as the sum of both the green and blue WF and defined as the ratio between evapotranspiration (in m3 per hectare) and crop yield (in ton per hectare). The values are expressed in m3/ton.

Percentage of children in a school attendance age (approximately 3-17 years old depending on the country) that have internet connection at home. Also in this case the indicator relates to the potential educational impact of electrification on children and young people.

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Literacy statistics for most countries cover the population ages 15 and older, but some include younger ages or are confined to age ranges that tend to inflate literacy rates. The youth literacy rate for ages 15-24 reflects recent progress in education. It measures the accumulated outcomes of primary education over the previous 10 years or so by indicating the proportion of the population who have passed through the primary education system and acquired basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Percentage of children aged 6-8 that currently attends, or in the current school year attended, school. This indicator measures the potential educational impact of bringing electricity to schools; therefore, the impact of binging electricity will be higher where the educational attendance is low.

The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are regional groupings of African states. The 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa and the 1991 Abuja Treaty proposed the creation of RECs as the basis for wider African integration. Each with their own role and structure, the RECs aim to facilitate regional economic integration between members of the region and through the wider African Economic Community (AEC), established under the Abuja Treaty. They are increasingly involved in coordinating African Union Member States’ interests in wider areas such as peace and security, development and governance. This map shows how many and which RECs each African country belongs to. The African Union recognises eight RECs: the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Raw materials are essential for the sustainable functioning of modern societies and their industries. The European Commission's Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) is developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in cooperation with the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROWTH). The RMIS is the Commission’s reference web-based knowledge platform on non-fuel, non-agricultural raw materials from primary and secondary sources. From gold to natural rubber, including cobalt, cooking coal, construction aggregates (sand, gravel...) and many more, it focuses on both abiotic and biotic materials, covering the entire value chain. This map shows the amount (in USD) of the main non-food, non-energy raw material commodities imported by each African country in 2017.

Raw materials are essential for the sustainable functioning of modern societies and their industries. The European Commission's Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) is developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in cooperation with the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROWTH). The RMIS is the Commission’s reference web-based knowledge platform on non-fuel, non-agricultural raw materials from primary and secondary sources. From gold to natural rubber, including cobalt, cooking coal, construction aggregates (sand, gravel...) and many more, it focuses on both abiotic and biotic materials, covering the entire value chain. This map shows the amount (in USD) of the main non-food, non-energy raw material commodities exported by each African country in 2017.