Access to electricity vs. GDP per capita in South Africa
South Africa: Access to electricity vs. GDP per capita was 90.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity vs. GDP per capita in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for access to electricity vs. gdp per capita in South Africa is 90.2%, measured in 2024. 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 vs. gdp per capita in South Africa peaked at 90.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 57.6%, in 1996.
That places South Africa 160th out of 214 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 vs. GDP per capita 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% |
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
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
- Ores and metals imports 2.5% (2025)
- Ores and metals exports 30.3% (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity vs. gdp per capita in South Africa?
- Access to electricity vs. gdp per capita in South Africa was 90.2% in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest access to electricity vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 90.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity vs. gdp per capita recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.6% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for access to electricity vs. gdp per capita?
- South Africa ranks 160th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity vs. gdp per capita 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 Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Access to electricity vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Access to electricity means having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.