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Indicators · Energy and power

Electricity generation per person

Total electricity generated in the country divided by population.

Why it matters

A better guide to how much power an economy actually has than the access rate. Industrial economies generate thousands of kWh per person.

Read with care

Excludes imports, which matter for countries such as Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini.

Source

Ember, Energy Institute

kWh a year. 54 African countries, 1985 to 2025.

Power per person: highest in Seychelles, lowest in Lesotho

Electricity generation per person, kWh a year. Latest year available, mostly 2024. 16 of 16 countries have data.

130
410
570
1,400
No data
Loading map…
Source: Ember, Energy Institute· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: power per personiWhy it mattersA better guide to how much power an economy actually has than the access rate. Industrial economies generate thousands of kWh per person.

Click a country to highlight it.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000Seychelles4,830 (2024)South Africa3,749Mauritius2,683 (2024)Botswana1,360 (2024)Zambia925 (2024)Zimbabwe617 (2024)Mozambique571 (2024)Namibia541 (2024)Eswatini491 (2024)Angola411 (2024)Comoros165 (2023)DRC146 (2024)Tanzania129 (2024)Malawi85 (2024)Madagascar76 (2024)Lesotho0 (2024)median 516
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 516Lowest: Lesotho 0Highest: Seychelles 4,830

Over time

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Electricity generation per person against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)Power per personDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMadagascarZambiaNamibiaBotswana
Source: Ember, Energy Institute, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1Seychelles4,8302024little changed since 2019C
2South Africa3,7492025down 6% since 2020C
3Mauritius2,6832024up 7% since 2019C
4Botswana1,3602024up 26% since 2019C
5Zambia9252024up 16% since 2019C
6Zimbabwe6172024up 11% since 2019C
7Mozambique5712024down 10% since 2019C
8Namibia5412024up 4% since 2019C
9Eswatini4912024up 18% since 2019C
10Angola4112024down 16% since 2019C
11Comoros1652023up 27% since 2018C
12DRC1462024up 15% since 2019C
13Tanzania1292024down 2% since 2019C
14Malawi852024down 11% since 2019C
15Madagascar762024down 13% since 2019C
16Lesotho02024down 100% since 2019C