Access to electricity in Zambia
Zambia: Access to electricity was 53.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity in Zambia stood at 53.6%. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and up 92.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in Zambia peaked at 53.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 1991.
Zambia ranks 197th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Access to electricity in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.9% | — |
| 1991 | 12.8% | -8.3% |
| 1992 | 19.2% | +50.6% |
| 1993 | 14.2% | -26.0% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +5.1% |
| 1995 | 15.7% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 17.3% | +10.4% |
| 1997 | 17.1% | -1.1% |
| 1998 | 19.0% | +11.0% |
| 1999 | 18.5% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 16.7% | -9.9% |
| 2001 | 20.2% | +21.0% |
| 2002 | 17.4% | -13.9% |
| 2003 | 18.5% | +6.3% |
| 2004 | 20.3% | +9.7% |
| 2005 | 23.3% | +14.8% |
| 2006 | 24.1% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 18.5% | -23.2% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +38.9% |
| 2009 | 26.6% | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 22.0% | -17.3% |
| 2011 | 28.3% | +28.6% |
| 2012 | 29.2% | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 30.1% | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 27.9% | -7.3% |
| 2015 | 31.1% | +11.5% |
| 2016 | 35.4% | +13.8% |
| 2017 | 40.3% | +13.8% |
| 2018 | 40.2% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 43.0% | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 44.6% | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 46.7% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 47.8% | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 51.1% | +6.9% |
| 2024 | 53.6% | +4.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.3% | 12.8% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.1% | 16.7% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.8% | 22.0% | 43.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.8% | 44.6% | 53.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More energy & mining data for Zambia
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fuel imports 22.9% (2024)
- Ores and metals imports 4.0% (2024)
- Ores and metals exports 73.0% (2024)
- Gas production 0 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 0 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel 0 terawatt-hours (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in Zambia?
- Access to electricity in Zambia was 53.6% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest access to electricity recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 53.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 1991.
- How does Zambia rank for access to electricity?
- Zambia ranks 197th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 92.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 35 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.