3.1.2Active indicatorHousehold Energy Use
3.1Energy use, energy generation, and health
3.2Air quality and health co-benefits
3.3Food, agriculture, and health co-benefits
3.5Health-care Sector Emissions
Indicator 3.1.2 · Mitigation
Household Energy Use
Access to clean household energy is essential for health and wellbeing. Reliance on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, heating, and lighting exposes people to harmful household air pollution, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease and premature death. Gendered roles in cooking and fuel collection mean women and girls are often disproportionately affected by household air pollution and the burdens associated with collecting fuel. This indicator tracks the fuels used to meet household energy needs and inequalities in their use across levels of human development.
Headline finding
The share of household energy supplied by harmful solid biomass fell from 28% in 2016 to 26% in 2023. In 2023, it varied widely across HDI groups, from 6.8% in low-HDI countries to 46.4% in very high-HDI countries.
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Figure 1
Household Energy Use
Percentage of household energy use from non-polluting sources, polluting fossil fuels, and polluting biomass, globally, by country, or Human Development Index (HDI) group, from 1990 to 2023. Non-polluting energy includes heat, electricity, and solar thermal energy; polluting fossil fuels include coal and coal products, natural gas, and liquid fuels; and polluting biomass includes solid biofuels, other biofuels, and waste.
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Figure 2
Household Energy Use By Source
Share of household energy use by fuel source, globally, by country, or Human Development Index (HDI) group, from 1990 to 2023.
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About this indicator
Description
This indicator draws on data from the IEA extended global residential modelling to monitor the sources of energy used in people's homes, using WHO guidance to assess what fuels are "clean." The indicator is also underpinned by the national surveys collected by World Health Organization and tracks the proportion of the population who use clean fuels and technologies for cooking, defined as those that have emission rate targets meeting World Health Organization’s 2005 guidelines for air quality.
Caveats
IEA data are generated using both direct input from national governments and modelling. As such, they are subject to caveats which vary by energy commodity and country. Full details are given in the IEA World Energy Balances documentation. This documentation also covers changes to methodology in previous editions of IEA World Energy Balances.
Data sources
- IEA dataset “World Energy Balances – Extended Energy Balances”1 via the IEA website for institutional subscribers, with full data through 2023 (last updated in August 2025- July 2025 edition with Corrigendum).
- UN World Population Prospects, 2024 edition.