Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia
Zambia: Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal was 0.17 terawatt-hours in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
In 2024, electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia stood at 0.17 terawatt-hours. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 13.3% on the previous year and up 41.7% over five years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia peaked at 0.17 terawatt-hours in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
That places Zambia 110th out of 212 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2002 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2003 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2004 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2005 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2006 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2007 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2008 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2009 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2010 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2011 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2012 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2013 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2014 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2015 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2016 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2017 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2018 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2019 | 0.12 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2020 | 0.15 terawatt-hours | +25.0% |
| 2021 | 0.15 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.14 terawatt-hours | -6.7% |
| 2023 | 0.15 terawatt-hours | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 0.17 terawatt-hours | +13.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 0.17 terawatt-hours is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.105 terawatt-hours, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 0.17 terawatt-hours is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.04 terawatt-hours, 4.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.012 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.12 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.152 terawatt-hours | 0.14 terawatt-hours | 0.17 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 107 Ecuador 0.23 terawatt-hours compare
- 108 Guadeloupe 0.21 terawatt-hours compare
- 109 Mauritius 0.18 terawatt-hours compare
- 110 Aruba 0.17 terawatt-hours compare
- 110 Ghana 0.17 terawatt-hours compare
- 110 Mali 0.17 terawatt-hours compare
- 110 North Korea 0.17 terawatt-hours compare
- 110 Uganda 0.17 terawatt-hours compare
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 generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia?
- Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Zambia was 0.17 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.17 terawatt-hours in 2024.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal?
- Zambia ranks 110th out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal. 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.