Share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa
South Africa: Share of the population with access to electricity was 90.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa stood at 90.2%. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa peaked at 90.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 57.6%, in 1996.
South Africa ranks 160th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 57.6% | — |
| 1997 | 69.5% | +20.6% |
| 1998 | 64.9% | -6.6% |
| 1999 | 71.3% | +9.9% |
| 2000 | 72.4% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 70.2% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 76.7% | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 78.8% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 80.6% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 80.8% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 80.7% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 82.0% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 81.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 82.6% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 83.6% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 85.2% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 85.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 85.9% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 85.3% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 83.9% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 84.4% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 84.7% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 85.0% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 89.3% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 86.5% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 87.7% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 90.2% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 65.8% | 57.6% | 71.3% | 4 |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 70.2% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.6% | 82.8% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.7% | 86.5% | 90.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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)
- 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)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa?
- Share of the population with access to electricity in South Africa was 90.2% in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 90.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population with access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.6% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for share of the population with access to electricity?
- South Africa ranks 160th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with access to electricity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with access to electricity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 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.