Doha, Qatar: Qatar has been listed among one of the most attractive countries for investment and business in the electricity and energy sector. Electricity consumption in Arab countries is forecast to edge up by 3.5% to 1,296 terawatt/hours by the end of 2025 and the generated electricity is projected to exceed 1,754 terawatt-hours by 2030.
The Arab electricity and renewable energy sector attracted 360 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects over $351bn and provided more than 83,000 jobs from January 2003 to December 2024, the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) revealed in a report.
Five countries including Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, Mauritania and Jordan, made up approximately 69% of the number of projects (248 projects), around 83% of the Capex ($291bn), and 82% of the new jobs (approximately 68000 jobs), the report
noted.
Based on Fitch Ratings’ assessment of investment and business risks and rewards in the electricity and energy sector in 14 Arab countries, by monitoring and measuring two main indicators, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman topped the Arab rankings as the best and most attractive Arab countries for investment in the electricity and energy sector in 2025. They were followed by Morocco, Egypt and Algeria respectively.
The generated electricity in the Arab region (15 countries) is likely to surge by 4.2% to exceed 1,500 terawatt-hours by the end of 2025 and is even projected to keep rising to 1,754 terawatt-hours by 2030.
The electricity generation is largely concentrated geographically, with five countries - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Iraq and Algeria – making up 74% of the region’s total electricity generation by the end of 2025.
The electricity consumption in Arab countries is forecast to edge up by 3.5% to 1,296 terawatt-hours by the end of 2025, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Algeria and Kuwait accounting for 74% of the region’s total electricity consumption: around 958 terawatt-hours, the report noted.
It added that average per capita electricity generated in Arab countries is forecast to go up by 3.1% to 8.6 thousand kilowatt-hours by the end of 2025, amid forecasts of a hike to roughly 9.6 thousand kilowatt-hours by 2030. It further noted that Arab foreign trade in power generation equipment and electric current shot up by 8% to approximately $39.2bn in 2024, with five countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Qatar, making up 81% of the total.
This is the result of a surge in power generation equipment and electric current exports of Arab countries by 9% to roughly $7.6bn and its imports by 7.8% to more than $31.5bn in 2024. The report is based on four key pillars which include - Arab production capacities and consumption until 2030; foreign trade in power and energy generation equipment for 2024; foreign investments in the renewable energy sector; assessment of the sector’s investment and business risks.
The report further showed that the UAE has topped the list as the region’s top investor in renewable energy over 22 years, based on the number of projects, investment costs and jobs, with 57 projects, or 16% of the total, a value exceeding $88.5bn, or 25%, and more than 16000 jobs.
It added that the top 10 companies investing in the power sector in each index accounted for around 25% of the number of implemented projects, 40% of Capex, and 38% of the total new jobs.
The list of the region’s top 10 exporting countries made up around 78% of total Arab electricity and power generation equipment imports, valued at $24.7bn. Turkiye topped the list as the region’s top electricity exporter, with a value of $446m, while the United States came as the largest power generation equipment exporter, with a value of $6.6bn.
