Energy use for subsistence and prospects for development

This paper focuses on the present use of energy in the developing countries in order to estimate the energy required for subsistence-level activities and to see how much surplus is available for economically productive activities, taking into account both commercial and non-commercial (firewood, farmwaste) sources of energy. The energy required for subsistence is estimated to be in the range of 0.3 to 0.4 tce per capita. The consumption of most low income groups countries is below this level if only commercial energy is considered. Relations are derived to explain the uses of each of these energy forms in terms of economic and demographic variables from a sample of 82 countries. These relations are then employed to show that the dependence on non-commercial energy is likely to continue beyond 2000 AD and that, inspite of the annual rise of commercial energy consumption by 6%, the improvements in per capita consumption are small because of an increase in population and a decrease in per capita non-commercial energy.