Access to electricity (% of population) in South Asia
South Asia: Access to electricity (% of population) was 99.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in South Asia, 1993–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity in South Asia stood at 99.8%. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 20.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in South Asia peaked at 99.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 46.2%, in 1994.
South Asia ranks 11th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Access to electricity (% of population) in South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 46.6% | — |
| 1994 | 46.2% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 47.7% | +3.2% |
| 1996 | 48.8% | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 50.3% | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 52.2% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 56.0% | +7.3% |
| 2000 | 56.8% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 58.3% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 59.4% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 62.3% | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 61.5% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 65.9% | +7.1% |
| 2006 | 65.9% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 69.3% | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 71.8% | +3.6% |
| 2009 | 73.0% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 74.1% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 77.3% | +4.4% |
| 2012 | 78.4% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 80.8% | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 82.8% | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 86.5% | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 88.3% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 91.4% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 94.8% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 95.5% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 96.4% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 99.4% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 99.1% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 99.4% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 99.8% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 49.7% | 46.2% | 56.0% | 7 |
| 2000s | 64.4% | 56.8% | 73.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.0% | 74.1% | 95.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.8% | 96.4% | 99.8% | 5 |
More energy & mining data for South Asia
- Ores and metals imports 7.4% (2025)
- Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources 73.8% (2023)
- Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding 92.56 kWh per person (2021)
- Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding 0.0407 kWh per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding 45,208 kWh per square kilometre (2021)
- Electricity production from renewable sources, excluding 4.91 % change on previous year (2021)
- Investment in energy with private participation 3.45 billion current US$ (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in South Asia?
- Access to electricity in South Asia was 99.8% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest access to electricity recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.2% in 1994.
- How does South Asia rank for access to electricity?
- South Asia ranks 11th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia 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 — 32 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.