System performance2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 20251%2%3% 0% -2%-1% -3%Growth rates 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 20255065 60 5570Score (0-100) 2022 2023 2024 Equity Sustainability Security 3.1 System performance System performance key takeaways BOX 5 Energy system performance rebounded. 2025 saw improvements in security, equity and sustainability – signalling improved delivery after years of stagnation.Price shifts and clean energy adoption enabled gains. On average, lower energy prices and subsidy reforms and greater rural access supported equity, while reduced energy and emission intensity and increased use of clean energy drove sustainability gains.Structural weaknesses persisted. Import dependence, low grid flexibility and uneven infrastructure progress continued to expose systems to disruption.Progress faces rising headwinds. Trade frictions, supply chain risks and policy uncertainty could stall momentum and deepen regional gaps. Source: World Economic Forum. Source: World Economic Forum.System performance measures how well a country’s energy system delivers on the three key dimensions: equity, security and sustainability (Figure 5). Over the last 10 years, system performance improved by 3.3%. Despite recent fluctuations driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, over the past decade, the energy system strengthened across all three underlying dimensions: –Equity scores fluctuated slightly but ended up with only a marginal net increase (+1.5% from 65.1 in 2016 to 66.1 in 2025), highlighting ongoing equity challenges in many countries. –Security scores improved slowly but consistently (+3.4% from 65.3 in 2016 to 67.5 this year), indicating that diversification and supply reliability remain high priorities but are difficult to advance quickly. –Sustainability scores saw the strongest upward trend (+5.3%), driven by cleaner energy mixes and decreased energy and carbon intensity. Despite these gains, sustainability remained the lowest-scoring dimension, highlighting the long path ahead to climate-aligned energy systems. Global average system performance and component performance, 2016-2025 FIGURE 5 Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2025 22