Net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia
Zambia: Net electricity imports as a share of demand was -18.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded -18.8% for net electricity imports as a share of demand in 2024.
The figure is up 10.3% on the previous year and down 101.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia peaked at 10.6% in 2016 and was at its lowest, -21.2%, in 2000.
Zambia ranks 205th of 213 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -21.2% | — |
| 2001 | -15.6% | -26.6% |
| 2002 | -10.7% | -31.2% |
| 2003 | -6.5% | -39.1% |
| 2004 | -2.8% | -57.5% |
| 2005 | -2.8% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | -5.6% | +101.6% |
| 2007 | -1.5% | -73.5% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -218.9% |
| 2009 | -6.2% | -455.5% |
| 2010 | -5.7% | -9.1% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -113.7% |
| 2012 | -7.1% | -1013.5% |
| 2013 | -8.2% | +15.8% |
| 2014 | -9.3% | +13.6% |
| 2015 | -3.0% | -68.2% |
| 2016 | 10.6% | -455.3% |
| 2017 | -2.2% | -120.6% |
| 2018 | -7.0% | +223.4% |
| 2019 | -5.6% | -20.9% |
| 2020 | -8.6% | +55.0% |
| 2021 | -13.7% | +58.3% |
| 2022 | -18.5% | +35.4% |
| 2023 | -20.9% | +13.2% |
| 2024 | -18.8% | -10.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's -18.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2%. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -1013.5% | 0.8% | -7.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -7.1% | -21.2% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | -3.7% | -9.3% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | -16.1% | -20.9% | -8.6% | 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 net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia?
- Net electricity imports as a share of demand in Zambia was -18.8% in 2024, according to Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest net electricity imports as a share of demand recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 10.6% in 2016.
- What is the lowest net electricity imports as a share of demand recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was -21.2% in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for net electricity imports as a share of demand?
- Zambia ranks 205th out of 213 countries with data for 2024.
- Is net electricity imports as a share of demand rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 101.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Net electricity imports as a share of 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
Electricity imports minus exports, measured as a percentage of total electricity demand in the country or region.