Malawi vs Papua New Guinea: Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas
Malawi
59.5%
in 2024
Papua New Guinea
66.8%
in 2024
Malawi rank
206th
Papua New Guinea rank
204th
Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas over time
- Malawi
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 66.8% against 59.5% in Malawi, a difference of 7.3%.
That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.1 times Malawi's.
Across all 29 years both countries report, Papua New Guinea has been ahead every year.
Malawi ranks 206th and Papua New Guinea ranks 204th of 212 countries.
Papua New Guinea has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.1% | 61.8% | 37.7% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 31.5% | 65.0% | 33.5% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 43.0% | 66.5% | 23.5% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 55.0% | 65.5% | 10.5% | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas, Malawi or Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea, at 66.8% against 59.5% in Malawi as of 2024.
- What is the difference in access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas between Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 7.3%, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 29 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2024.
- How do Malawi and Papua New Guinea rank globally for access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas?
- Malawi ranks 206th and Papua New Guinea ranks 204th of 212 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The definition used in international statistics adopts a very low cutoff for what it means to ‘have access to electricity’. It is defined as having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.