Analysing rural and urban differences in modern cooking energy use in Somalia using the Fairlie decomposition method

A key factor in realizing Sustainable Development Goal 7, that proposes to provide universal access to affordable and clean energy by 2030, is the availability of clean cooking energy. Energy sources impact both community economic growth and public health through pollution, particularly in households in middle-income countries. Therefore, this study intends to break down rural and urban disparities in modern cooking energy use in Somalia. This research applied a cross-sectional research approach. A total of 7212 household samples were analyzed. The Fairlie decomposition Technique was applied to split the rural-urban disparities in modern cooking energy use. This study found that 89.6% of households utilized traditional energy, while only 10.4% used modern cooking energy sources in Somalia. Sex, education, age of the household head, poverty status, and place of residence were identified as significant predictors of modern cooking energy adoption. Specifically, households with higher education levels, older household heads, female-headed households, and those in urban areas were more likely to use modern energy, whereas poor households were less likely to do so. The inequality in the likelihood of adopting modern cooking energy use among rural and urban households is − 0.12553, suggesting that rural families were significantly less likely to utilize modern cooking energy compared to their urban counterparts. Based on our findings, we conclude that significant improvements are necessary to promote the practice of modern energy for cooking.