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Why Ajay Banga Doubts AI Data Centers Will Spread Across Emerging Markets
Ajay Banga expects limited large scale data center expansion in emerging markets because AI facilities need abundant electricity, computing resources, data, skilled workers and capital. The United States, China and Europe accounted for 85% of data center electricity use in 2024.
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Key takeaways
- Ajay Banga expects limited large scale data center expansion in emerging markets because AI facilities need abundant electricity, computing resources, data, skilled workers and capital.
- The United States, China and Europe accounted for 85% of data center electricity use in 2024.
- Limited local computing capacity could deepen existing AI access gaps, while new data centers may compete with other users for clean, affordable electricity.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: Why does World Bank Group President Ajay Banga believe data centers are unlikely to expand significantly into emerging markets, given their. Article summary: Ajay Banga’s point is that an AI data center needs more than a building: it needs dependable, abundant power alongside computing equipment, data access, skilled workers and capital. Where electricity is scarce and develo. Topic tags: general, general web, news, user generated. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts wi
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga does not see the global AI boom translating into widespread construction of large data centers across emerging markets. His concern is not simply the cost of a building: these facilities depend on electricity and an ecosystem of computing resources, usable data, skilled people and investment. Where power is scarce, supplying an energy-intensive AI facility also raises a development question about what else that electricity could serve. 17
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Why Banga expects expansion to be limited
At a Bloomberg Green panel during Climate Week in New York, Banga said emerging markets have relatively few data centers and predicted that they are unlikely to proliferate there. He singled out the large amounts of computing power and electricity that AI requires. In earlier World Bank remarks, he also identified data and people who can work with it as essential ingredients for making AI useful in emerging markets. 17
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Those constraints do not mean no data centers can be built in developing economies. Bloomberg has reported an expanding African data-center industry, while identifying reliable electricity as its biggest challenge. Banga’s prediction is about the prospects for broad expansion, not a claim that every emerging market is the same. 47
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How quickly is electricity demand growing?
The International Energy Agency’s central projection puts global electricity use by all data centers at about 485 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025 and 950 TWh in 2030—roughly double, and around 3% of projected global electricity demand in 2030. This is a forecast for the entire data-center sector, not an estimate of AI’s electricity use alone. The IEA identifies AI as the most important driver of growth alongside other digital services. 13
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The starting point is geographically concentrated. In 2024, the United States accounted for 45% of global data-center electricity use, China for 25% and Europe for 15%: 85% combined. Those historical shares do not establish that the same regions will capture an identical share of new investment through 2030. 5
The digital-divide and clean-power stakes
If new computing capacity continues to favor places with stronger grids and established technical ecosystems, countries with weaker infrastructure could face greater difficulty developing and using AI locally. A UN climate-action report already identifies unreliable power, limited computing capacity and shortages of technical expertise as barriers in underserved areas. A separate UN report finds significant geographic gaps in financing for AI capacity-building. 25
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That makes data-center siting a development choice as well as an energy decision. Climate Week NYC’s agenda notes that expanding data centers compete with industry, transport and cities for clean, affordable electricity. Banga’s warning brings the trade-off into focus: building AI infrastructure sustainably matters, but so does deciding whether scarce power should serve a data center or other pressing local needs. 19
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What is the short answer to "Why Ajay Banga Doubts AI Data Centers Will Spread Across Emerging Markets"?
Ajay Banga expects limited large scale data center expansion in emerging markets because AI facilities need abundant electricity, computing resources, data, skilled workers and capital.
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Ajay Banga expects limited large scale data center expansion in emerging markets because AI facilities need abundant electricity, computing resources, data, skilled workers and capital. The United States, China and Europe accounted for 85% of data center electricity use in 2024.
What should I do next in practice?
Limited local computing capacity could deepen existing AI access gaps, while new data centers may compete with other users for clean, affordable electricity.