
Energy consumption in the Republic of the Congo
The most important measure in the energy balance of the Republic of the Congo is the total consumption of912.00 million kWh
of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 165 kWh.The Republic of the Congo could provide itself completely with self-produced energy. The total production of all electric energy producing facilities is 2 bn kWh, which is 186% of the countries own usage. Despite this, the Republic of the Congo is trading energy with foreign countries. Along with pure consumptions the production, imports and exports play an important role. Other energy sources such as natural gas or crude oil are also used.
Back to overview: Congo
Energy Balance
Electricity | total | Congo per capita | USA per capita |
---|---|---|---|
Own consumption | 912.00 m kWh | 165.27 kWh | 11,770.70 kWh |
Production | 1.70 bn kWh | 307.35 kWh | 12,352.90 kWh |
Import | 18.00 m kWh | 3.26 kWh | 219.37 kWh |
Export | 22.00 m kWh | 3.99 kWh | 29.25 kWh |
49.5% of the country's population (as of 2020) has access to electricity.In rural areas, the share was 14.8% | |||
Crude Oil | Barrel/day | Congo per capita | USA per capita |
Production | 340,000.00 bbl | 0.062 bbl | 0.033 bbl |
Export | 254,100.00 bbl | 0.046 bbl | 0.003 bbl |
In 2018 there were still 1.60 bn barrels of recoverable but not yet used crude oil reserves in the currently known deposits of the Congo. Worldwide, there are still proved oil reserves totaling around 1,620 bn billion barrels. The Congo therefore has a share of 0.099% and ranks 37th out of 98 countries with crude oil reserves. | |||
Natural Gas | Cubic meters | Congo per capita | USA per capita |
Own consumption | 1.39 bn m³ | 251.35 m³ | 2,315.53 m³ |
Production | 1.39 bn m³ | 251.35 m³ | 2,331.21 m³ |
Carbon footprint
CO2 emissions in 2018 | Congo per capita | USA per capita | |
---|---|---|---|
total | 3.22 m t | 0.61 t | 15.03 t |
Development of CO2 emissions from 1960 to 2018 in million tons
See also: CO2 equivalents by country

Production capacities per energy source
The given production capacities for electric energy have a theoretical value, which could only be obtainable under ideal conditions. They are measuring the generatable amount of energy, that would be reached under permanent and full use of all capacities of all power plants. In practice this isn't possible, because e.g. solar collectors are less efficient unter clouds. Also wind- and water-power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries.Energy source | total in the Republic of the Congo | percentage in the Republic of the Congo | percentage USA | per capita in the Republic of the Congo | per capita USA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fossil fuels | 3.32 bn kWh | 64,0 % | 70,0 % | 600.97 kWh | 20,106.98 kWh |
Nuclear power | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 9,0 % | 0.00 kWh | 2,585.18 kWh |
Water power | 1.87 bn kWh | 36,0 % | 7,0 % | 338.04 kWh | 2,010.70 kWh |
Renewable energy | 0.00 kWh | 0,0 % | 14,0 % | 0.00 kWh | 4,021.40 kWh |
Total production capacity | 5.18 bn kWh | 100,0 % | 100,0 % | 939.01 kWh | 28,724.25 kWh |
Actual total production | 1.70 bn kWh | 32.7 % | 43.0 % | 307.35 kWh | 12,352.90 kWh |
Usage of renewable energies
Renewable energies include wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy sources. This means all energy sources that renew themselves within a short time or are permanently available. Energy from hydropower is only partly a renewable energy. This is certainly the case with river or tidal power plants. Otherwise, numerous dams or reservoirs also produce mixed forms, e.g. by pumping water into their reservoirs at night and recovering energy from them during the day when there is an increased demand for electricity. Since it is not possible to clearly determine the amount of generated energy, all energies from hydropower are displayed separately.In 2018, renewable energies accounted for around 69.9 percent of actual total consumption in the Congo. The following chart shows the percentage share from 1990 to 2018:
