page_title: Rural electrification
section_title: Productivity and efficiency
hierarchical_section_title: Rural electrification / Social and economic benefits / Productivity and efficiency
caption_attribution_description: English: A Rural Electrification Administration cooperative lineman at work in Hayti. Taken in July 1942 by
context_page_description: Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion people worldwide lack household electric power – 14% of the global population. Electrification typically begins in cities and towns and gradually extends to rural areas, however, this process often runs into obstacles in developing nations. Expanding the national grid is expensive and countries consistently lack the capital to grow their current infrastructure. Additionally, amortizing capital costs to reduce the unit cost of each hook-up is harder to do in lightly populated areas. If countries are able to overcome these obstacles and reach nationwide electrification, rural communities will be able to reap considerable amounts of economic and social development.
  This graph shows the world rural electrification rate along with the electrification growth rate from 1990-2016 and synthesizes data from the World Bank
context_section_description: In addition to improved education, rural electrification also allows for greater efficiency and productivity. Businesses will be able to keep their doors open for longer and generate additional revenues. Farmers will have access to streamlined modern techniques such as irrigation, crop processing, and food preservation. In 2014, rural communities in India gained more than US$21 million from increased economic activity driven by recent additions of electricity.
caption: A Rural Electrification Administration lineman at work in Missouri, United States in 1942
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