Annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa
South Africa: Annual percentage change in primary energy use was -0.3% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa, 1966–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa stood at -0.3%.
That represents a change of down 107.6% on the previous year and down 294.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa peaked at 16.3% in 1981 and was at its lowest, -10.2%, in 2020.
That places South Africa 163rd out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 0.6% | — |
| 1967 | 4.1% | +565.4% |
| 1968 | 5.5% | +33.9% |
| 1969 | 3.0% | -46.5% |
| 1970 | 4.5% | +51.8% |
| 1971 | 7.7% | +70.7% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | -61.0% |
| 1973 | 7.5% | +152.1% |
| 1974 | 2.8% | -62.6% |
| 1975 | 6.6% | +135.1% |
| 1976 | 4.1% | -38.0% |
| 1977 | 2.4% | -40.7% |
| 1978 | -1.0% | -139.5% |
| 1979 | 3.5% | -465.9% |
| 1980 | 6.8% | +92.7% |
| 1981 | 16.3% | +138.9% |
| 1982 | 7.8% | -52.4% |
| 1983 | 1.4% | -81.5% |
| 1984 | 9.4% | +555.7% |
| 1985 | 2.1% | -77.2% |
| 1986 | 1.7% | -19.0% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | -11.7% |
| 1988 | 9.9% | +547.2% |
| 1989 | -4.4% | -144.4% |
| 1990 | 3.7% | -184.4% |
| 1991 | -0.9% | -124.0% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -179.3% |
| 1993 | -0.1% | -113.6% |
| 1994 | 4.2% | -4434.5% |
| 1995 | 4.6% | +11.5% |
| 1996 | 1.9% | -59.9% |
| 1997 | 2.1% | +15.4% |
| 1998 | -1.7% | -177.7% |
| 1999 | 3.5% | -311.4% |
| 2000 | 0.1% | -97.9% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +441.2% |
| 2002 | -2.6% | -743.7% |
| 2003 | 3.7% | -245.5% |
| 2004 | 6.4% | +71.5% |
| 2005 | 3.5% | -44.8% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | +49.9% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | -43.3% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | -30.7% |
| 2009 | -5.4% | -358.3% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | -162.8% |
| 2011 | -3.1% | -191.7% |
| 2012 | 4.0% | -229.9% |
| 2013 | -0.0% | -100.7% |
| 2014 | -2.7% | +9522.4% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -106.0% |
| 2016 | 1.2% | +672.6% |
| 2017 | -4.3% | -452.0% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | -176.2% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | +55.2% |
| 2020 | -10.2% | -299.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -108.5% |
| 2022 | -3.8% | -539.5% |
| 2023 | 4.3% | -212.5% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | -4.9% |
| 2025 | -0.3% | -107.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's -0.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.6%. (56 countries reporting)
- South Africa's -0.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.5%. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | -9522.4% | -0.0% | -2.7% |
| 1994 | +4434.5% | -0.1% | 4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.3% | 0.6% | 5.5% | 4 |
| 1970s | 4.1% | -1.0% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.3% | -4.4% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8% | -1.7% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | -5.4% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | -4.3% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.9% | -10.2% | 4.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.3095 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa?
- Annual percentage change in primary energy use in South Africa was -0.3% in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual percentage change in primary energy use recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 16.3% in 1981.
- What is the lowest annual percentage change in primary energy use recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -10.2% in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for annual percentage change in primary energy use?
- South Africa ranks 163rd out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual percentage change in primary energy use rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 294.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual percentage change in primary energy use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage change in total energy supply relative to the previous year.