Nearly two billion people still cook using wood, charcoal and other fuels that produce harmful smoke, with dire implications for health, development, and the environment. Globally, the lack of access to clean cooking contributes to 2.5 million premature deaths each year due to household air pollution. Households that lack access spend an average of four hours per day collecting fuel and cooking over inefficient stoves, with far-reaching impacts on productivity and education, with women and children bearing the greatest burden. Traditional cooking methods also emit 1.2 Gt carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) annually from direct emissions and forest degradation, comparable to the combined emissions of international aviation and shipping.

Rapid progress on expanding access to clean cooking is possible, with developing Asia halving the number of people without access since 2010. Over this period, around 1.7 billion people have gained access to clean cooking fuels globally, led by efforts in countries like India and Indonesia. Progress in sub-Saharan Africa has not matched this pace, meaning that half of the two billion people still lacking access globally live in Africa. If Africa were to replicate the best historical pace of progress seen in leading countries, IEA projections show that Africa could close the clean cooking gap by 2040.

Efforts to accelerate clean cooking access are beginning to translate into measurable progress. In 2024, the IEA hosted an international Summit on clean cooking in Africa, resulting in USD 2.2 billion in new public and private sector commitments. This annual progress report takes stock of advances in clean cooking access, including progress toward delivering on Summit commitments. Drawing on the IEA’s most up-to-date information, it provides a data-driven snapshot of investment flows, infrastructure expansion and policy implementation, offering a timely assessment of progress and remaining gaps.

The pace of clean cooking delivery in sub-Saharan Africa is now triple the rate seen in 2010. As of 2024, 23% of sub-Saharan Africans have access to clean cooking, an increase of almost 1 percentage point from the previous year. Nearly 12 million people gained access to clean cooking solutions in 2024, compared with around 4 million in 2010, with 17 countries in the region recording faster progress than the year prior. Early data on stove and fuel imports indicate that this momentum continued into 2025 and could surpass the best pace of progress on record for Africa. However, population growth still outpaced progress, with the number of people without access increasing by around 14 million in 2024.

New access to clean cooking continues to be led by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). LPG accounted for more than 70% of those with access in Africa and represents the vast majority of new connections in 2024. Electric cooking is the second most widely used option, serving around one quarter of African households, largely concentrated in South Africa, where earlier electrification efforts have resulted in one of the highest shares of electric cooking globally. Improved biomass cookstoves also remain an important solution in Africa, with transitional cookstoves accounting for a large segment and reaching at least 4 million additional people annually over the past five years.

Investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s clean cooking sector has increased significantly driven by private sector investment. In 2024, investment in stoves and related infrastructure reached USD 770 million, up from USD 590 million in 2020. Around 60% went to end-use equipment, including stoves and cylinders, with the remainder directed toward infrastructure. Financing for these projects has largely come from private capital and consumer spending – around 70% of the total. Investment growth was uneven across technologies, with biomass cookstove investment falling in 2024 following a slowdown in development finance and carbon credit activity.

As of end of May 2026, nearly USD 740 million of the 2.2 billion pledged have been disbursed to projects across almost 30 African countries. At the current pace, the full package of commitments is on track to be delivered by 2030, with more than 40% of public sector and one-third of private sector commitments already disbursed. All twelve African countries that committed to policy reforms at the Summit have implemented at least one since 2024, as have around 20 additional African countries.

Most disbursements were directed to in-country projects spanning a range of technologies and financing channels. Around three-quarters of funds were channelled directly to in-country investments or projects, with Kenya the largest recipient (19%), followed by Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa (7% each). Around two-thirds of disbursements went toward the distribution and installation of end-use equipment such as cookstoves and cylinders, while 14% went to technical assistance and market development, 13% to investment funds and direct stakes in clean cooking companies, and 7% to infrastructure. Nearly half of disbursements went to LPG, with the remainder spread across improved biomass, electric cooking, biogas, and multi-fuel and cross-cutting support.

Clean cooking policy frameworks have strengthened significantly across Africa in the last two years. From 2024 to the first quarter of 2026, more than 120 new policies and programmes supporting clean cooking were implemented or announced. On average, one quarter of the population without access in Africa saw some positive policy improvements on clean cooking each year from 2020 to 2023. This share rose sharply to 46% in 2024 and 84% in 2025. Much of the momentum centred on national strategies and access targets – with more than 30 new targets set since 2024. Many accompanying regulatory reforms and implementation efforts remain under development, including measures such as tariff reforms, standards, and carbon credit legislation. Only 20 such measures have been fully implemented since 2024.

Investment in infrastructure is laying the groundwork for scaling up clean cooking supply chains. The IEA has established new tracking of clean cooking infrastructure across Africa, taking stock of equipment sales, import and industry data, as well as satellite detection. This tracking finds LPG storage capacity has reached 800 kt, with more than 10% added over the past five years and at least 250 kt under construction. The pace of new household electricity grid connections increased by 11% in 2024, concentrated in urban areas. Modern bioenergy supply chains are also expanding rapidly: since early 2024, at least 200 kt of new pellet production capacity has come online, bringing total capacity to 600 kt per year, with a further 600 kt under development. Bioethanol production capacity reached 1 billion litres, up 20% over five years. Around 20 major cookstove manufacturing facilities are now operating across the region – most commissioned since 2020 – with stated expansion plans set to double manufacturing capacity.

Around 30% of global seaborne LPG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the 3.4 billion people who rely on LPG as their primary cooking fuel to supply disruptions and price shocks. In Asia, countries such as India and Bangladesh responded to supply disruptions with rationing, increased refinery output, emergency imports and incentives to accelerate fuel switching. In Africa, physical supplies largely remained available, but sharply higher prices put LPG beyond the reach of many households, especially in markets without state-set fuel pricing like Nigeria and Uganda. Many countries had thin domestic fuel reserves to help buffer the impacts of the crisis, with less than 35 countries in emerging and developing economies holding enough LPG storage – both operational and strategic – to cover more than 30 days of domestic LPG demand.

Government responses are shaping future clean cooking policy trends, with a growing focus on resilience, affordability, and leveraging domestic energy resources. As of May 2026, the IEA has tracked 23 policy measures introduced in response to the clean cooking crisis stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. More than half of the policies focused on strengthening supply resilience through strategic reserves, emergency protocols and supply chain reforms. Some countries introduced policies incentivising consumers to switch to alternative fuels to reduce LPG import dependency, such as electric cooking campaigns in India and Indonesia, where 80-90% of households rely on LPG today. Many governments adjusted prices and taxes to cushion the shock, increasing fiscal burdens and drawing down foreign exchange reserves, effects that could persist long after prices stabilise, particularly in Africa, where fiscal space is more limited.

While the energy crisis presents a new risk for clean cooking progress in Africa, the outlook for clean cooking remains stronger than before. Stronger policy frameworks and a robust pipeline of infrastructure investment are expected to sustain access gains above pre-crisis trends through 2030. LPG supply disruptions from the crisis have been partly cushioned by market adjustments and elevated North American inventories coming to bear, moderating expected medium-term impacts on LPG supply and pricing, although higher fiscal pressures may weigh on future progress. Putting Africa on a trajectory similar to the rapid gains achieved in Asia, however, will require further policy action, sustained international partnerships, and continued public and private investment. Maintaining political attention on clean cooking will be critical to extending recent progress and translating momentum into lasting, transformative impacts for Africa's future.