Electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia
Zambia: Electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 17.25 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 17.25 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 22.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia peaked at 17.32 terawatt-hours in 2023 and was at its lowest, 7.67 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
Zambia ranks 59th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.67 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 7.89 terawatt-hours | +2.9% |
| 2002 | 8.1 terawatt-hours | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 8.26 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 8.46 terawatt-hours | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 8.88 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 9.67 terawatt-hours | +8.9% |
| 2007 | 9.63 terawatt-hours | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 9.52 terawatt-hours | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 9.88 terawatt-hours | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 10.44 terawatt-hours | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 11.48 terawatt-hours | +10.0% |
| 2012 | 12.35 terawatt-hours | +7.6% |
| 2013 | 13.28 terawatt-hours | +7.5% |
| 2014 | 14.11 terawatt-hours | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 13.11 terawatt-hours | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 11.1 terawatt-hours | -15.3% |
| 2017 | 12.57 terawatt-hours | +13.2% |
| 2018 | 13.78 terawatt-hours | +9.6% |
| 2019 | 12.52 terawatt-hours | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 13.02 terawatt-hours | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 16.3 terawatt-hours | +25.2% |
| 2022 | 17.31 terawatt-hours | +6.2% |
| 2023 | 17.32 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 17.25 terawatt-hours | -0.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 17.25 terawatt-hours is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.03 terawatt-hours, 5.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 17.25 terawatt-hours is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6 terawatt-hours, 28.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.8 terawatt-hours | 7.67 terawatt-hours | 9.88 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.47 terawatt-hours | 10.44 terawatt-hours | 14.11 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.24 terawatt-hours | 13.02 terawatt-hours | 17.32 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 56 Belarus 19.21 terawatt-hours compare
- 57 Iceland 19.05 terawatt-hours compare
- 58 Kazakhstan 18.38 terawatt-hours compare
- 60 North Korea 17.17 terawatt-hours compare
- 61 Uzbekistan 16.8 terawatt-hours compare
- 62 Mozambique 16.51 terawatt-hours compare
More climate change data for Zambia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 303.19 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 7,547 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,795 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,752 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 10.55 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 169.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,153 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,033 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 120.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.67 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia?
- Electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia was 17.25 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 17.32 terawatt-hours in 2023.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.67 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- Zambia ranks 59th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.