Electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa
South Africa: Electric power transmission and distribution losses was 10.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa, 1990–2023
Source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA). Measured in % of output.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 10.2% for electric power transmission and distribution losses in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 22.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa peaked at 10.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.0%, in 1990.
South Africa ranks 69th of 151 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of output | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.0% | — |
| 1991 | 6.5% | +9.3% |
| 1992 | 7.2% | +9.8% |
| 1993 | 7.3% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 7.7% | +5.7% |
| 1995 | 6.2% | -20.0% |
| 1996 | 7.6% | +22.7% |
| 1997 | 7.7% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 8.1% | +5.2% |
| 1999 | 8.3% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 8.1% | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 7.7% | -4.4% |
| 2002 | 6.3% | -19.0% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | +30.4% |
| 2004 | 9.9% | +20.7% |
| 2005 | 8.4% | -14.8% |
| 2006 | 8.6% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 8.4% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 8.7% | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 9.7% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 9.4% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | -11.1% |
| 2012 | 8.6% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 8.4% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 8.3% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 8.0% | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 8.5% | +6.2% |
| 2017 | 8.4% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 8.9% | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 9.1% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 10.5% | +15.5% |
| 2021 | 10.1% | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 10.2% | +2.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 10.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.3%, 100% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 10.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.7%, 58% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.2% | 6.0% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.4% | 6.3% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.6% | 8.0% | 9.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 10.0% | 10.5% | 4 |
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 electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa?
- Electric power transmission and distribution losses in South Africa was 10.2% in 2023, according to IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA).
- What is the highest electric power transmission and distribution losses recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 10.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest electric power transmission and distribution losses recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.0% in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for electric power transmission and distribution losses?
- South Africa ranks 69th out of 151 countries with data for 2023.
- Is electric power transmission and distribution losses rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), published as part of Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Electric power transmission and distribution losses include losses in transmission between sources of supply and points of distribution and in the distribution to consumers, including pilferage. The losses are expressed as a share of the total output.