Electricity production from hydroelectric sources (% of total) in South Africa
South Africa: Electricity production from hydroelectric sources (% of total) was 2.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Electricity production from hydroelectric sources in South Africa, 1990–2024
Source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 2.6% for electricity production from hydroelectric sources in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.5% on the previous year and up 65.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity production from hydroelectric sources in South Africa peaked at 3.4% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1993.
That places South Africa 132nd out of 210 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Electricity production from hydroelectric sources (% of total) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.7% | — |
| 1991 | 2.2% | +31.9% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | -44.8% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | -31.2% |
| 1994 | 1.4% | +67.1% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -32.3% |
| 1996 | 1.8% | +81.6% |
| 1997 | 2.2% | +27.3% |
| 1998 | 2.0% | -12.5% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | -16.4% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | +14.3% |
| 2001 | 1.9% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 2.0% | +7.0% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | -21.1% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +20.3% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -9.3% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | +34.3% |
| 2007 | 1.5% | -36.6% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | +17.6% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -14.6% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | -6.2% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | +31.8% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | +7.1% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +13.8% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | +20.8% |
| 2023 | 2.9% | -13.3% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | -9.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.0%, 26% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 30.5%, 9% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.6% | 0.9% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- 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)
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity production from hydroelectric sources in South Africa?
- Electricity production from hydroelectric sources in South Africa was 2.6% in 2024, according to IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA).
- What is the highest electricity production from hydroelectric sources recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4% in 2022.
- What is the lowest electricity production from hydroelectric sources recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1993.
- How does South Africa rank for electricity production from hydroelectric sources?
- South Africa ranks 132nd out of 210 countries with data for 2024.
- Is electricity production from hydroelectric sources rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 65.4%. 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 Electricity production from hydroelectric sources (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The share of electricity production from hydroelectric sources of total electricity production. Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Hydropower refers to electricity produced by hydroelectric power plants.