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
Latest (2025)
699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
14th
of 213 countries
All-time high
813.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
in 2006
All-time low
699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
in 2025
Years of data
26
2000–2025
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.
Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 799.44 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | — |
| 2001 | 806.27 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 802.25 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 807.63 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 806.92 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 812.68 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 813.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 810.05 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 809.4 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 807.9 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 807.62 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 803.57 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 807.04 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 799.69 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 791.58 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 790.96 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 779.4 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 768.91 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 774.68 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 764.26 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 763.15 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 741.51 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 729.02 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 714.4 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 717.36 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | -2.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 537.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour, 1.3× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 699.29 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 443.9 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
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
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 717.27 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 34,365 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,741 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 22,624 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 807.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,495 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,119 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 376.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.32 kt (2050)
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.