Africa stays in the slow lane with transport infrastructure
As the world’s poorest continent with the least developed transport infrastructure, it is no surprise that Africa trails the rest of the world in terms of fuel use
A region that has around 15% of the world’s population is likely to account for just 3.4% of global transportation energy demand in 2015, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Vehicle ownership data are no less gloomy. Only 26 people of every 1,000 in Africa (including the Middle East) owned a passenger car in 2009, compared with 550 in OECD North America. By 2035, Africa’s number will still be just 47, according to Opec. Despite the potential in this huge under-developed region, Africa’s demand growth is forecast to lag that in much of the rest of the developing world in coming decades. The EIA estimates average annual growth of 1.5% in Africa’s transport energy use i
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