Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa
South Africa: Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources was 85.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa, 1990–2023
Source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2023, electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa stood at 85.1%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa peaked at 95.0% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 85.1%, in 2023.
That places South Africa 70th out of 210 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 93.2% | — |
| 1991 | 92.3% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 93.2% | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 95.0% | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 93.2% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 93.0% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 92.4% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 91.7% | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 91.3% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 91.9% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 91.8% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 92.9% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 92.5% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 92.9% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 92.5% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 93.6% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 93.6% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 94.1% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 93.3% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 93.1% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 93.3% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 92.9% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 93.6% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 92.8% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 92.0% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 91.6% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 89.7% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 88.8% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 88.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 87.8% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 88.0% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 85.6% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 85.2% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 85.1% | -0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 85.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 79.3%, 1.1× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 85.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 67.1%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 92.7% | 91.3% | 95.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 93.0% | 91.8% | 94.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.1% | 87.8% | 93.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.0% | 85.1% | 88.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 67 Burkina Faso 86.0% compare
- 68 Tonga 85.8% compare
- 69 Aruba 85.2% compare
- 71 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 85.0% compare
- 72 Dominican Republic 84.4% compare
- 73 Tuvalu 84.2% compare
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- 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)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
- Ores and metals imports 2.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa?
- Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources in South Africa was 85.1% in 2023, according to IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA).
- What is the highest electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 95.0% in 1993.
- What is the lowest electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.1% in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources?
- South Africa ranks 70th out of 210 countries with data for 2023.
- Is electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 oil, gas and coal sources (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources of total electricity production. Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Oil refers to crude oil and petroleum products. Gas refers to natural gas but excludes natural gas liquids. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category.