South Africa’s electricity access rose to 90.2% of population in 2024.

Higher is better. A higher share is better because each extra point is more people who can light a home, keep food cold and charge a phone from the grid or a similar source. The latest figure for South Africa is 90.2% of population in 2024, up from 87.7% of population a year earlier, a rise of 2.5 percentage points. Since 2015 the lowest reading was 83.9% of population in 2016, so the country sits at the top of its own range over that span. The 2024 figure is also the highest in the window.

Why it matters. At 90.2% of population, roughly nine in ten South Africans have an electricity connection, which makes access a much smaller problem than supply. The households still without a connection are likely to keep relying on fuels such as paraffin, wood or candles for lighting and cooking. For firms and the state, the remaining gap is a question of extending the network to the last households, which is a different job from the one that keeps connected homes supplied.