Only 45% of Angolans had access to electricity and 64% to drinking water by last year, CES reveals

By last year, only 45% of the population had access to electricity and 64% to drinking water, while oil continued to account for around 90% of the country’s exports, according to data from the Angola 2040 Strategy – Energy and Water as Catalysts for Industrialisation: National Strategy for the Development of Economic Corridors (2026–2040), prepared by Angola’s Economic and Social Council (CES).

The assessment also identifies high losses in energy and water networks, limited industrial transformation capacity, high logistics costs, restricted access to financing, administrative bureaucracy, institutional weaknesses and a low-skilled workforce as factors limiting the competitiveness of the economy. Nevertheless, access to electricity and drinking water is expected to approach universal coverage by 2040, reaching rates of 98% and 95%, respectively, according to the CES.

The document presents a structural transformation plan for the economy, based on the expansion of infrastructure, industrialisation and export diversification, in a context where less than half of the population has access to electricity and only 64% benefits from drinking water.

The strategy estimates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow from the current USD 97 billion, projected for 2025, to between USD 300 billion and USD 400 billion by 2040. To support this growth, the plan foresees accumulated investments of between USD 180 billion and USD 220 billion, an increase in goods exports to between USD 150 billion and USD 200 billion, and a tripling of foreign direct investment to a range of USD 18 billion to USD 20 billion.

The document also projects the creation of 2.3 million formal jobs and an increase in the contribution of the manufacturing industry to GDP from the current 11% to more than 25%.

To address these constraints, the strategy is structured around five pillars: universal access to energy, strengthening water security, industrialisation, development of six economic corridors and enhancement of human capital.

In the water sector, the plan foresees investments of between USD 24 billion and USD 32 billion by 2040 to increase drinking water coverage to 95% of the population, expand access to basic sanitation to 80%, reduce losses in urban networks to less than 20%, and expand irrigated areas to more than four million hectares.

In the energy sector, the goal is to increase electricity coverage to 98% of the population, triple electricity generation and position Angola as a regional exporter of clean energy.

The document highlights that achieving these targets will depend on the implementation of structural reforms and the ability to mobilise the planned level of investment over the next 15 years. Among the factors considered crucial to the success of the strategy are the strengthening of institutions, macroeconomic stability, technological innovation, the development of human resources and the improvement of the business environment.