Access to electricity in South Africa
South Africa: Access to electricity was 84.2% in 2016. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in South Africa, 1990–2016
Source: World Bank Global Electrification Database 2012. Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 84.2% for access to electricity in 2016.
The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in South Africa peaked at 86.0% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 57.6%, in 1996.
South Africa ranks 158th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Access to electricity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 59.3% | — |
| 1991 | 60.6% | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 61.8% | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 63.0% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 64.3% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 65.5% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 57.6% | -12.0% |
| 1997 | 67.9% | +17.9% |
| 1998 | 64.9% | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 70.2% | +8.2% |
| 2000 | 71.3% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 70.2% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 77.1% | +9.8% |
| 2003 | 78.8% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 80.9% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 80.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 80.7% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 82.0% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 81.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 82.7% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 82.9% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 84.7% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 85.3% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 85.4% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 86.0% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 85.5% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 84.2% | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 63.5% | 57.6% | 70.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 70.2% | 82.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.9% | 82.9% | 86.0% | 7 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in South Africa?
- Access to electricity in South Africa was 84.2% in 2016, according to World Bank Global Electrification Database 2012.
- What is the highest access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 86.0% in 2014.
- What is the lowest access to electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.6% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for access to electricity?
- South Africa ranks 158th out of 217 countries with data for 2016.
- Is access to electricity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Global Electrification Database 2012, published as part of Access to electricity (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Access to electricity is the percentage of population with access to electricity.