Global access to cooling: Regional trends

Cooling access gaps for the rural and urban poor grew across all analyzed regions in 2021. In Africa, 776 million people across 31 high-impact countries face cooling challenges, with 215 million urban poor at highest risk. In Asia and the Middle East, the population at highest risk rose to 645 million in 2021, with significant rural poor increases in India and Bangladesh. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of people at highest risk in six high-impact countries reached 48.8 million, with the majority being the urban poor.

• In Africa, 776 million people across 31 high-impact countries, representing 93 percent of the total population, face cooling access challenges. This includes 215 million urban poor and 174 million rural poor at highest risk. The rural poor population at high risk increased by 11.4 million compared to 2020, a trend influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The population at highest risk in Asia and the Middle East grew to 645 million in 2021, up from 617 million in 2020. The rural poor population in high-impact countries in this region increased by approximately 18 million between 2020 and 2021, with the most significant growth in India (13.9 million increase) and Bangladesh (2 million increase).
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of people at highest risk across six high-impact countries rose from 47.6 million in 2020 to 48.8 million in 2021. The urban poor constitute the vast majority of this group, with the largest growth observed in Brazil (299,000 people) and Bolivia (55,000 people).

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2021). Global access to cooling: Regional trends. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2021/global-access-to-cooling/regional-trends

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Global access to cooling: Regional trends. 2021. https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2021/global-access-to-cooling/regional-trends.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Global access to cooling: Regional trends |date=2021 |url=https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2021/global-access-to-cooling/regional-trends |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2021global, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Global access to cooling: Regional trends}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/chilling-prospects-2021/global-access-to-cooling/regional-trends}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }