Access to electricity, rural in South Africa
South Africa: Access to electricity, rural was 86.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity, rural in South Africa, 1996–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of rural population.
Analysis
In 2024, access to electricity, rural in South Africa stood at 86.3%.
The figure is down 8.2% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity, rural in South Africa peaked at 95.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 23.8%, in 1996.
That places South Africa 159th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Access to electricity, rural in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of rural population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 23.8% | — |
| 1997 | 49.7% | +108.7% |
| 1998 | 40.4% | -18.6% |
| 1999 | 52.9% | +30.9% |
| 2000 | 54.9% | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 49.4% | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 64.3% | +30.2% |
| 2003 | 66.3% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 73.2% | +10.4% |
| 2005 | 73.4% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 72.9% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 75.9% | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 75.3% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 76.7% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 76.9% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 78.6% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 82.6% | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 82.4% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 84.1% | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 82.1% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 77.9% | -5.1% |
| 2017 | 79.1% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 79.7% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 80.4% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 95.5% | +18.8% |
| 2021 | 93.4% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 93.4% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 94.0% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 86.3% | -8.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 86.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 100.0%, 86% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 86.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 40.2%, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Access to electricity, rural in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +108.7% | 23.8% | 49.7% |
| 1999 | +30.9% | 40.4% | 52.9% |
| 2002 | +30.2% | 49.4% | 64.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 41.7% | 23.8% | 52.9% | 4 |
| 2000s | 68.2% | 49.4% | 76.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.4% | 76.9% | 84.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.5% | 86.3% | 95.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 156 Philippines 88.5% compare
- 157 Eswatini 88.3% compare
- 158 Comoros 88.2% compare
- 160 Micronesia, Federated States of 86.0% compare
- 161 Afghanistan 84.6% compare
- 162 Ghana 82.6% compare
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity, rural in South Africa?
- Access to electricity, rural in South Africa was 86.3% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest access to electricity, rural recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 95.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest access to electricity, rural recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.8% in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for access to electricity, rural?
- South Africa ranks 159th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity, rural rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB), published as part of Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Access to electricity, rural is the percentage of rural population with access to electricity.