Electricity generation in Zambia
Zambia: Electricity generation was 19.72 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 19.72 terawatt-hours for electricity generation in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 35.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation in Zambia peaked at 19.72 terawatt-hours in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.71 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
That places Zambia 86th 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 generation in Zambia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.71 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 7.94 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 8.16 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 8.32 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 8.51 terawatt-hours | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 8.94 terawatt-hours | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 9.68 terawatt-hours | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 9.64 terawatt-hours | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 9.53 terawatt-hours | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 9.89 terawatt-hours | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 10.45 terawatt-hours | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 11.49 terawatt-hours | +10.0% |
| 2012 | 12.37 terawatt-hours | +7.7% |
| 2013 | 13.3 terawatt-hours | +7.5% |
| 2014 | 14.52 terawatt-hours | +9.2% |
| 2015 | 13.51 terawatt-hours | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 11.77 terawatt-hours | -12.9% |
| 2017 | 14.56 terawatt-hours | +23.7% |
| 2018 | 16.28 terawatt-hours | +11.8% |
| 2019 | 14.79 terawatt-hours | -9.2% |
| 2020 | 15.23 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 17.72 terawatt-hours | +16.3% |
| 2022 | 19.47 terawatt-hours | +9.9% |
| 2023 | 19.46 terawatt-hours | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 19.72 terawatt-hours | +1.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 19.72 terawatt-hours is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.26 terawatt-hours, 1.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 19.72 terawatt-hours is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.95 terawatt-hours, 10.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.83 terawatt-hours | 7.71 terawatt-hours | 9.89 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3 terawatt-hours | 10.45 terawatt-hours | 16.28 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.32 terawatt-hours | 15.23 terawatt-hours | 19.72 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 generation in Zambia?
- Electricity generation in Zambia was 19.72 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 19.72 terawatt-hours in 2024.
- What is the lowest electricity generation recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.71 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for electricity generation?
- Zambia ranks 86th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is electricity generation rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation. 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
Total electricity generated in each country or region, measured in terawatt-hours.