Access to electricity, urban in Malawi
Malawi: Access to electricity, urban was 59.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity, urban in Malawi, 1992–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity, urban in Malawi stood at 59.5%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 29.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity, urban in Malawi peaked at 59.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 19.0%, in 1993.
That places Malawi 209th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Access to electricity, urban in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 19.8% | — |
| 1993 | 19.0% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 20.2% | +6.1% |
| 1995 | 21.3% | +5.7% |
| 1996 | 22.5% | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 23.6% | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 24.7% | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 25.7% | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 28.7% | +11.5% |
| 2001 | 27.8% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 28.9% | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 37.1% | +28.4% |
| 2004 | 30.2% | -18.6% |
| 2005 | 32.1% | +6.3% |
| 2006 | 23.6% | -26.5% |
| 2007 | 34.3% | +45.3% |
| 2008 | 35.5% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 36.7% | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 34.7% | -5.4% |
| 2011 | 32.6% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 37.1% | +13.8% |
| 2013 | 36.6% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 46.1% | +26.0% |
| 2015 | 48.7% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 42.0% | -13.8% |
| 2017 | 57.5% | +36.9% |
| 2018 | 49.0% | -14.8% |
| 2019 | 45.5% | -7.1% |
| 2020 | 49.6% | +9.0% |
| 2021 | 54.2% | +9.3% |
| 2022 | 54.0% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 57.8% | +7.0% |
| 2024 | 59.5% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22.1% | 19.0% | 25.7% | 8 |
| 2000s | 31.5% | 23.6% | 37.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.0% | 32.6% | 57.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.0% | 49.6% | 59.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 206 Niger 69.1% compare
- 207 Papua New Guinea 66.8% compare
- 208 Guinea-Bissau 65.6% compare
- 210 Sierra Leone 56.4% compare
- 211 Liberia 55.5% compare
- 212 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 55.0% compare
More energy & mining data for Malawi
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 7.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (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)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 16.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity, urban in Malawi?
- Access to electricity, urban in Malawi was 59.5% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest access to electricity, urban recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 59.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity, urban recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.0% in 1993.
- How does Malawi rank for access to electricity, urban?
- Malawi ranks 209th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity, urban rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB), published as part of Access to electricity, urban (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Access to electricity, urban is the percentage of urban population with access to electricity.