Access to electricity (% of population) in South Africa
South Africa: Access to electricity (% of population) was 90.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity in South Africa stood at 90.2%. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in South Africa peaked at 90.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 57.6%, in 1996.
That places South Africa 163rd out of 217 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Access to electricity (% of population) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 57.6% | — |
| 1997 | 69.5% | +20.6% |
| 1998 | 64.9% | -6.6% |
| 1999 | 71.3% | +9.9% |
| 2000 | 72.4% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 70.2% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 76.7% | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 78.8% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 80.6% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 80.8% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 80.7% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 82.0% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 81.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 82.6% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 83.6% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 85.2% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 85.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 85.9% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 85.3% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 83.9% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 84.4% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 84.7% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 85.0% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 89.3% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 86.5% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 87.7% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 90.2% | +2.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 90.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 100.0%, 90% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 90.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 57.8%, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.8% | 57.6% | 71.3% | 4 |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 70.2% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.6% | 82.8% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.7% | 86.5% | 90.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- Ores and metals imports 2.5% (2025)
- Gas production 0.6284 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 9.82 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel 0.6284 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Gas production per person 9.82 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Gas production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Gas production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in South Africa?
- Access to electricity in South Africa was 90.2% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 90.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.6% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for access to electricity?
- South Africa ranks 163rd out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB), published as part of Access to electricity (% of population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Access to electricity is the percentage of population with access to electricity. Electrification data are collected from industry, national surveys and international sources.