Number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Number of people without access to electricity was 6.32 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe, 2000–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe stood at 6.32 million people.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and down 34.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe peaked at 9.62 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 6.21 million people, in 2023.
That places Zimbabwe 26th out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.88 million people | — |
| 2001 | 7.88 million people | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 7.95 million people | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 7.94 million people | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 7.96 million people | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 7.98 million people | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 7.94 million people | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 8.04 million people | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 8.07 million people | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 7.44 million people | -7.9% |
| 2010 | 8.16 million people | +9.7% |
| 2011 | 8.58 million people | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 7.74 million people | -9.8% |
| 2013 | 8.32 million people | +7.6% |
| 2014 | 9.62 million people | +15.5% |
| 2015 | 9.55 million people | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 8.40 million people | -12.1% |
| 2017 | 8.29 million people | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 8.21 million people | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 8.14 million people | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 7.34 million people | -9.8% |
| 2021 | 8.06 million people | +9.7% |
| 2022 | 8.02 million people | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 6.21 million people | -22.6% |
| 2024 | 6.32 million people | +1.8% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 6.32 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 781,524 people, 8.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 6.32 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.10 million people, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.91 million people | 7.44 million people | 8.07 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.50 million people | 7.74 million people | 9.62 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.19 million people | 6.21 million people | 8.06 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 23 Cote d'Ivoire 8.65 million people compare
- 24 Cameroon 8.15 million people compare
- 25 Guinea 6.82 million people compare
- 27 South Africa 6.27 million people compare
- 28 Philippines 6.02 million people compare
- 29 Papua New Guinea 6.00 million people compare
More energy & mining data for Zimbabwe
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 25.83 % 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)
- 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 (2024)
- Fuel imports 21.1% (2024)
- Ores and metals imports 0.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe?
- Number of people without access to electricity in Zimbabwe was 6.32 million people in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people without access to electricity recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 9.62 million people in 2014.
- What is the lowest number of people without access to electricity recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.21 million people in 2023.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for number of people without access to electricity?
- Zimbabwe ranks 26th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people without access to electricity rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
- The figures come from Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people without access to electricity. 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
Access to electricity means having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.