Database: Cooking fuels and technologies (by specific fuel category)

This database contains fuel-specific estimates of the fuels and technologies used for cooking, by countries. This database was developed using the WHO Household energy database, which was input to a novel statistical model (O. Stoner et. al.) to produce the estimates available below at the global, regional, and country level for 6 specific fuel categories: electricity, gaseous fuels (including liquid petroleum gas, natural gas and biogas), kerosene, biomass (unprocessed biomass includes wood, crop residues and dung), charcoal, and coal. The estimates are also provided for urban, rural, and total areas. Currently the database contains information for 171 countries between 1960 and 2022. 

Specific fuel use estimates can inform policy makers by providing a more realistic picture of fuel use at different levels in a country or region and help improve policies to be implemented to facilitate a transition to clean fuels. 

In 2021, 71 percent of the global population relied primarily on clean fuel and technologies for cooking (such as electricity, solar and gaseous fuels. The rest of the population, mostly living in low- and middle-income countries, relied on polluting fuels. These fuels cause high levels of household air pollution, affecting health and climate, and are a cause of gender inequalities.

WHO's Household Energy Database is available upon request for research and non-profit purposes. Please send a request letter outlining specific activities that will involve the use of the HHE Database to householdenergy@who.int. We will then follow up with details regarding the respective data-sharing agreement.

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Related indicators

Table
Indicator name:
Cooking fuels: proportion of population with primary reliance on fuels and technologies for cooking, by fuel type (%)
Short name:
PHE_HHAIR_PROP_POP_CATEGORY_FUELS
Topic:
Risk factors
Rationale:
The use of solid fuels and kerosene in households is associated with increased mortality from acute lower respiratory, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, and lung cancer.
Definition:
The percentage of the population relying on given fuels and technologies as the primary source of domestic energy for cooking
Disaggregation:
Location (urban/rural) Fuel type (kerosene, gas, electricity, biomass, charcoal, coal)
Method of measurement
The indicator is calculated as the number of people relying primarily on a given fuel and technology for cooking divided by total population, expressed as a percentage.
Method of estimation:
A non parametrical statistical model based on household survey data and time as inputs is applied to derive estimates. For further information on the model, see O. Stoner, J. Lewis, I. Lucio Martinez, S. Gumy, T. Economou, H. Adair-Rohani. (2021) What fuels the fire? Cooking fuel estimates at global, regional and country level for 1990-2030, Research Square (https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-251806/v1). Input data for the model are drawn from the WHO Household Energy Database, which includes data from nationally-representative surveys and censuses that provide estimates of primary cooking fuels and technologies. Data from high-income countries and surveys in which more than 15% of respondents were not categorized into a fuel type (i.e. missing data, reported not cooking at home, or used "other" fuels) were excluded.
Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:
Countries are population-weighted to obtain regional aggregates; for countries with no data, nothing is reported. Regional estimates exclude high-income countries or low- and middle-income countries without suitable data in the region reported.
Preferred data sources:
National survey
Population census
Household surveys
Expected frequency of data dissemination:
Annual
Expected frequency of data collection:
Annual
Comments:
There may be discrepancies between internationally reported and nationally reported figures. The reasons are the following: - Modelled estimates versus survey data point. - Use of different total population estimate.
Contact person email:
sdg7@who.int
Name:
sdg7@who.int
IMRID:
5663
Links:
World Urbanization Prospects
Air pollution data portal
Burning opportunity: clean household energy for health, sustainable development, and wellbeing of women and children. (WHO, 2016)
Global Household Energy Model: A Multivariate Hierarchical Approach to Estimating Trends in the Use of Polluting and Clean Fuels for Cooking. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Applied Statistics, Series C. 2020
What fuels the fire: Cooking fuels estimates
Indicator Metadata Registry List

Questions - Database

To report a problem or ask a question about the database, please contact householdenergy@who.int.  

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