Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal
Nepal: Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas was 99.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal, 1996–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal stood at 99.7%. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal peaked at 99.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 78.4%, in 1996.
That places Nepal 145th out of 212 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 78.4% | — |
| 1997 | 83.0% | +5.8% |
| 1998 | 83.6% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 84.3% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 85.4% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 85.7% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 86.4% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 86.9% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 87.4% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 88.0% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 90.1% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 89.1% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 89.7% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 90.4% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 95.5% | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 94.1% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 95.5% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 95.5% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 97.7% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 95.2% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 94.5% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 95.2% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 95.8% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 94.2% | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 94.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 94.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 97.7% | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 96.0% | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 99.7% | +3.9% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 99.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 97.0%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 99.7% is below the median for South Asia, which is 100.0%, 100% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 82.3% | 78.4% | 84.3% | 4 |
| 2000s | 87.9% | 85.4% | 90.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.3% | 94.1% | 97.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.4% | 94.2% | 99.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
- 146 Bangladesh 99.5% compare
- 147 El Salvador 99.4% compare
- 147 Mongolia 99.4% compare
More energy & mining data for Nepal
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 5.6 % 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)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 23.0% (2022)
- Ores and metals imports 2.3% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal?
- Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Nepal was 99.7% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 78.4% in 1996.
- How does Nepal rank for access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas?
- Nepal ranks 145th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.