Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa
South Africa: Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity was 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025. ▼ Falling
Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa, 2000–2025
Source: Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour for lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa peaked at 813.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2006 and was at its lowest, 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour, in 2025.
That places South Africa 14th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 807.6 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 799.44 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 813.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2010s | 788.77 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 764.26 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 807.62 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2020s | 727.45 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 763.15 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 11 Kazakhstan 805.32 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 12 Congo 716.12 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 13 Syria 706.19 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 15 Bangladesh 696.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 16 Serbia 695.8 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 17 Saudi Arabia 691.95 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
More climate change data for South Africa
- Share co2 vs population 0.9265 (2100)
- Population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Population, total 64.75 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.3% (2025)
- Urban population 41.32 million (2025)
- Urban population 63.8% (2025)
- Co2 emissions vs gdp 6.87 (2024)
- Cumulative co emissions 22.83 billion (2024)
- Co emissions per capita 6.87 (2024)
- Co2 per capita vs renewable electricity 6.87 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa?
- Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa was 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025, according to Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 813.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2006.
- What is the lowest lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025.
- How does South Africa rank for lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity?
- South Africa ranks 14th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gases emitted per unit of generated electricity, measured in grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.