Electricity demand in Zambia
Zambia: Electricity demand was 16.6 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▲ Rising
Electricity demand in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
The most recent figure for electricity demand in Zambia is 16.6 terawatt-hours, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity demand in Zambia peaked at 16.6 terawatt-hours in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.36 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
That places Zambia 91st 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 25 years of available data.
Electricity demand in Zambia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.36 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 6.87 terawatt-hours | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 7.37 terawatt-hours | +7.3% |
| 2003 | 7.81 terawatt-hours | +6.0% |
| 2004 | 8.28 terawatt-hours | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 8.7 terawatt-hours | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 9.17 terawatt-hours | +5.4% |
| 2007 | 9.5 terawatt-hours | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 9.7 terawatt-hours | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 9.31 terawatt-hours | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 9.89 terawatt-hours | +6.2% |
| 2011 | 11.58 terawatt-hours | +17.1% |
| 2012 | 11.55 terawatt-hours | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 12.29 terawatt-hours | +6.4% |
| 2014 | 13.28 terawatt-hours | +8.1% |
| 2015 | 13.12 terawatt-hours | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 13.16 terawatt-hours | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 14.25 terawatt-hours | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 15.21 terawatt-hours | +6.7% |
| 2019 | 14.01 terawatt-hours | -7.9% |
| 2020 | 14.02 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 15.59 terawatt-hours | +11.2% |
| 2022 | 16.43 terawatt-hours | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 16.09 terawatt-hours | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 16.6 terawatt-hours | +3.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 16.6 terawatt-hours is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.06 terawatt-hours, 1.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 16.6 terawatt-hours is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.81 terawatt-hours, 5.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.31 terawatt-hours | 6.36 terawatt-hours | 9.7 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.83 terawatt-hours | 9.89 terawatt-hours | 15.21 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.75 terawatt-hours | 14.02 terawatt-hours | 16.6 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More energy & mining data for Zambia
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 0.0312 % 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 22.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity demand in Zambia?
- Electricity demand in Zambia was 16.6 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity demand recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 16.6 terawatt-hours in 2024.
- What is the lowest electricity demand recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.36 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for electricity demand?
- Zambia ranks 91st out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is electricity demand rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity demand. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.