Number of people without access to electricity in Zambia
Zambia: Number of people without access to electricity was 9.89 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of people without access to electricity in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people without access to electricity in Zambia is 9.89 million people, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people without access to electricity in Zambia peaked at 11.46 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 6.61 million people, in 1992.
That places Zambia 21st out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Number of people without access to electricity in Zambia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.70 million people | — |
| 1991 | 6.96 million people | +3.9% |
| 1992 | 6.61 million people | -5.1% |
| 1993 | 7.18 million people | +8.7% |
| 1994 | 7.29 million people | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 7.41 million people | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 7.45 million people | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 7.66 million people | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 7.68 million people | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 7.93 million people | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 8.34 million people | +5.2% |
| 2001 | 8.24 million people | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 8.80 million people | +6.7% |
| 2003 | 8.95 million people | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 9.04 million people | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 8.99 million people | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 9.21 million people | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 10.24 million people | +11.2% |
| 2008 | 9.67 million people | -5.5% |
| 2009 | 9.90 million people | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 10.89 million people | +10.0% |
| 2011 | 10.35 million people | -5.0% |
| 2012 | 10.56 million people | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 10.76 million people | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 11.46 million people | +6.5% |
| 2015 | 11.30 million people | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 10.93 million people | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 10.41 million people | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 10.75 million people | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 10.55 million people | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 10.56 million people | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 10.45 million people | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 10.52 million people | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 10.13 million people | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 9.89 million people | -2.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 9.89 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 781,524 people, 12.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 9.89 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.10 million people, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.29 million people | 6.61 million people | 7.93 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.14 million people | 8.24 million people | 10.24 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.80 million people | 10.35 million people | 11.46 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.31 million people | 9.89 million people | 10.56 million people | 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)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 22.9% (2024)
- Ores and metals imports 4.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people without access to electricity in Zambia?
- Number of people without access to electricity in Zambia was 9.89 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.46 million people in 2014.
- What is the lowest number of people without access to electricity recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.61 million people in 1992.
- How does Zambia rank for number of people without access to electricity?
- Zambia ranks 21st out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people without access to electricity rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 35 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.