Energy Poverty and Water Driven Mortality

Frequently asked questions

Is there a link between electricity access and deaths from waterborne disease?

Yes. Gabriel Collins’s November 2020 analysis of more than 200 countries and territories finds a strong negative relationship between access to electricity and mortality from waterborne illnesses. Places with lower electricity access tend to have higher death rates from these illnesses, drawing on data from the CIA World Factbook and the World Bank.

Which region has the highest death rates from unsafe water?

Sub-Saharan Africa has the countries with the highest rates anywhere globally of death per capita from unsafe water. The same region is also the world’s most broadly energy-poor, which fits the broader pattern in the analysis linking limited electricity access to higher mortality from waterborne illnesses.

How much energy does it take to supply water?

Supplying water requires an often underappreciated amount of energy. In one example from the analysis, every 1,000 gallons of groundwater supplies used in the City of San Antonio embeds an estimated 12 kWh. That is nearly the energy storage capacity of a Tesla Powerwall, which holds 14 kWh.

Why does energy poverty affect access to safe water?

Energy poverty affects safe water because water for human consumption and other uses embeds energy. Where electricity is scarce, delivering water becomes harder, and the analysis finds that countries with lower electricity access have higher mortality from waterborne illnesses, with Sub-Saharan Africa showing the highest per capita death rates from unsafe water.