Access to electricity is one of the foundations of modern life — powering homes, schools, clinics, and businesses. Yet in 2000, only about one in three people in Bangladesh (32%) had access.
By 2022 that share had climbed to 99.4%, putting universal access within reach for one of the world’s most densely populated countries. The chart shows how steep the climb was after 2010, when access rose from 55% to 96% in a single decade.
32% → 99.5%
Share of Bangladeshis with electricity access, 2000 to 2024.
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.
Access is not the same as reliable supply: load-shedding during fuel shortages remains a real cost for households and factories. But electrification’s effects compound quietly — longer study hours for children, refrigeration for clinics and vaccines, and new opportunities for small rural enterprises.