By Ethical Business Team
As the global transition to electric vehicles accelerates, a stark geographical divide has emerged in the infrastructure enabling it. The countries leading in charging station density bear little relation to those supplying the critical minerals that make the technology possible. It is a pattern that recalls older forms of resource extraction, raising questions about whether the green revolution will replicate the economic inequities of the fossil fuel era.
The Netherlands has established itself as the global benchmark for charging infrastructure efficiency, with just five electric vehicles per public charger as of the third quarter of 2025, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This density reflects a coordinated strategy in which chargers are installed based on direct user requests, creating a demand-driven network that minimises congestion whilst maximising utilisation. China follows with nine vehicles per charger, though its approach differs markedly: nearly half of its public charging points are already direct current fast chargers, a proportion projected to exceed 50 per cent by 2030.
Europe’s other major markets occupy the middle tier. Italy reports ten electric vehicles per charger, Spain eleven, and France thirteen. Germany trails at 19 vehicles per charger, whilst the United Kingdom lags further at 26. The United States records 31 electric vehicles per public charger, the weakest performance among major automotive markets. Sweden, with 15 vehicles per charger, and India, with 13, round out the rankings of countries with significant electric vehicle deployment.
In contrast, no African nation appears in global density rankings. South Africa, the continent’s most developed market, operates approximately 500 public charging stations as of mid-2025. Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt have made modest progress, but across much of the continent, public charging infrastructure remains sparse or non-existent. Only 17 per cent of African countries possess ten or more public charging stations, according to research from the Energy for Growth Hub published in March 2025.
This infrastructure gap exists despite Africa’s central role in the electric vehicle supply chain. The Democratic Republic of the Congo holds 51 per cent of global cobalt reserves and produced approximately 74 per cent of the world’s cobalt in recent years, according to United States Geological Survey data. Zimbabwe possesses 11 million tonnes of lithium ore in its Bikita mines alone. Mozambique supplies graphite, South Africa produces manganese and platinum group metals, and Zambia ranks among the world’s top copper producers. Collectively, these minerals constitute the core materials for lithium-ion batteries, which account for up to half the cost of an electric vehicle.
Yet value addition remains concentrated elsewhere. China alone manufactured 74 per cent of global lithium-ion batteries in 2024, processing much of Africa’s raw mineral exports in the process. Analysis by Nanyang Technological University’s Centre for African Studies found that whilst these minerals are mined in Africa, smelting, refining, cell assembly, and vehicle production occur almost entirely outside the continent. The pattern mirrors historical commodity extraction: in 2018, Africa’s electric vehicle raw material exports totalled just 13 billion dollars, a fraction of the value captured through downstream processing.
The disparity in charging infrastructure directly influences adoption rates and shapes national transport strategies. In the Netherlands, charging points currently include just 3 per cent fast chargers, though this proportion is expected to rise to 5 per cent by 2030 as adoption increases. The country’s approach prioritises accessibility over speed, with chargers distributed to match demand patterns rather than concentrated in commercial hubs.
China’s infrastructure reflects different priorities. Fast chargers support dense urban populations and enable long-distance travel across regions with limited grid access in certain areas. The emphasis on speed has reinforced China’s dominance in global electric vehicle adoption, with the country accounting for more than half of worldwide battery electric vehicle sales in recent years.
European nations are converging towards a model that balances accessibility with charging speed. Italy’s fast chargers currently represent 26 per cent of its network, projected to reach 32 per cent by 2030. Spain’s proportion stands at 31 per cent, rising to 36 per cent. France reports 21 per cent fast chargers today, expected to reach 33 per cent within five years. Germany, despite its weaker overall density, maintains 25 per cent fast chargers, with plans to reach 30 per cent by decade’s end.
The United States, by comparison, has deployed fast chargers across 28 per cent of its public network, a figure projected to reach 33 per cent by 2030. Yet its overall charger density remains the weakest among major economies, reflecting fragmented policy frameworks, sprawling geography, and uneven private sector investment. An executive order in January 2025 paused disbursement of federal infrastructure funds pending policy review, introducing further uncertainty.
Africa faces obstacles that extend beyond capital constraints. Grid reliability remains a fundamental barrier. Only eight African countries meet high reliability standards, whilst sub-Saharan Africa’s System Average Interruption Duration Index stands at 39.30 hours annually—45 times worse than the 0.87 hours recorded in OECD nations, according to the Energy for Growth Hub. Nigeria’s national power grid generates just 4,500 megawatts for a population exceeding 200 million people, rendering conventional charging infrastructure unfeasible in many areas.
Some African nations are attempting alternative pathways. In Nigeria, battery swapping has emerged as a practical solution to grid instability, with Ogun State partnering with firms to introduce swapping stations for electric motorcycles and taxis. Rwanda has similarly focused on electric two-wheelers, with Ampersand operating battery swap networks that have logged over 1.3 million kilometres since May 2019. Ethiopia plans to leverage electricity from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to power charging infrastructure, having implemented a ban on internal combustion engine vehicle imports in June 2025.
Yet policy frameworks remain uneven. Only 28 per cent of African countries have implemented at least one national electric vehicle target, and just 39 per cent have established legally binding incentives for electric vehicle adoption, according to the Energy for Growth Hub analysis. Morocco stands as an exception, pursuing aggressive automotive and battery manufacturing ambitions alongside its Noor solar complex, one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power facilities. The country aims to position itself not merely as a supplier of raw materials but as a manufacturing hub, particularly for European markets.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia have begun discussions with international partners to develop integrated battery production value chains. In December 2022, the United States signed a memorandum of understanding with both nations to support this objective. The African Development Bank has identified the region’s potential to become a low-cost, low-emissions producer of battery precursor materials, citing the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s cobalt reserves and hydroelectric capacity.
Whether such initiatives can alter entrenched patterns of commodity dependence remains uncertain. China’s dominance in battery manufacturing stems from decades of strategic industrial planning and massive capital investment. African countries face not only a technology and skills gap but also logistical challenges: the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s vast size, poor transport infrastructure, and unstable electricity supply present formidable obstacles to moving up the value chain.
The charging infrastructure divide continues to widen. As countries with robust networks attract greater electric vehicle adoption, they generate demand for further infrastructure investment, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. The Netherlands’ demand-driven model has produced high utilisation rates that justify continued deployment. China’s scale and state coordination enable rapid expansion that would be impossible under purely market-driven conditions. European nations benefit from regulatory harmonisation and cross-border planning that ease infrastructure development.
In Africa, progress proceeds at a different scale. Ghana announced plans for 200 charging stations, whilst Kenya Power is gradually extending coverage beyond Nairobi. South Africa’s network has grown by approximately 50 per cent annually between 2020 and 2023. But the absolute numbers remain marginal in comparison with wealthy nations’ deployments.
The irony is difficult to ignore: the minerals that power the global electric vehicle transition flow from mines in African nations that lack the infrastructure to participate meaningfully in the technology’s benefits. It is a dynamic that has characterised resource economics for centuries—primary commodities extracted in one region, processed and consumed in another, with wealth accumulating accordingly. Whether the electric vehicle revolution will follow a different trajectory, or merely electrify existing patterns of inequality, is among the central questions facing the green transition.
