Bangladesh reached near-universal access to electricity in 2023

Access to electricity is one of the foundations of modern life — powering homes, schools, clinics, and businesses. Yet as recently as the mid-1990s, only about one in five people in Bangladesh had a grid connection.

By 2023, that share had climbed to roughly 99%, putting near-universal access within reach for one of the world's most densely populated countries. The chart above shows just how steep this climb has been, particularly after 2010.

Two forces drove the change. The national grid expanded rapidly into rural areas, while one of the world's largest off-grid solar home system programmes brought power to remote villages and river islands that the grid could not yet reach. Together they closed the gap faster than most projections anticipated.

Electrification rarely makes headlines, but its effects compound quietly across the economy — longer study hours for children, refrigeration for clinics and vaccines, and new opportunities for small rural enterprises. It is a reminder that some of the most consequential development gains are also the least visible.