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DataBank

Metadata Glossary

Code1.1_ACCESS.ELECTRICITY.TOT
Indicator NameAccess to electricity (% of total population)
Long definitionAccess to electricity (% of total population): Percentage of total population with access to electricity
TopicAccess to energy
Unit of measureData for access to electricity are collected among different sources: mostly data from nationally representative household surveys (including national censuses) were used. Survey sources include Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS), Multi-Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), the World Health Survey (WHS), other nationally developed and implemented surveys, and various government agencies (for example, ministries of energy and utilities). Given the low frequency and the regional distribution of some surveys, a number of countries have gaps in available data. To develop the historical evolution and starting point of electrification rates, a simple modeling approach was adopted to fill in the missing data points - around 1990, around 2000, and around 2010. Therefore, a country can have a continuum of zero to three data points. The model keeps the original observation if data is available for any of the time periods. This modeling approach allowed the estimation of electrification rates for 212 countries over these three time periods (Indicated as "Estimate"). Notation "Assumption" refers to the assumption of universal access in countries classified as developed by the United Nations.
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