Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa
South Africa: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 17.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 17.8% for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2025. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
That represents a change of up 13.9% on the previous year and up 137.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa peaked at 17.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 1985.
That places South Africa 144th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 4.1% | — |
| 1986 | 7.0% | +69.9% |
| 1987 | 5.1% | -27.4% |
| 1988 | 8.6% | +69.0% |
| 1989 | 8.5% | -1.8% |
| 1990 | 5.7% | -33.3% |
| 1991 | 6.6% | +16.8% |
| 1992 | 6.0% | -9.6% |
| 1993 | 4.2% | -29.1% |
| 1994 | 5.9% | +39.9% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | +6.9% |
| 1996 | 6.6% | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 7.1% | +7.6% |
| 1998 | 7.5% | +6.2% |
| 1999 | 6.8% | -9.8% |
| 2000 | 6.9% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 6.1% | -11.6% |
| 2002 | 6.6% | +7.8% |
| 2003 | 5.9% | -9.8% |
| 2004 | 6.0% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 5.3% | -11.3% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 5.6% | +5.5% |
| 2008 | 5.7% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 5.9% | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 6.3% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 5.6% | -10.3% |
| 2013 | 6.2% | +9.8% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | +15.2% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 9.2% | +22.3% |
| 2017 | 10.3% | +12.4% |
| 2018 | 9.4% | -9.0% |
| 2019 | 10.5% | +11.3% |
| 2020 | 10.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12.7% | +21.8% |
| 2022 | 14.1% | +10.7% |
| 2023 | 15.9% | +12.6% |
| 2024 | 15.7% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 17.8% | +13.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 17.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.8%, 66% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 17.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 32.1%, 56% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | +69.9% | 4.1% | 7.0% |
| 1988 | +69.0% | 5.1% | 8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.7% | 4.1% | 8.6% | 5 |
| 1990s | 6.3% | 4.2% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.8% | 5.6% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.4% | 10.5% | 17.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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 share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in South Africa was 17.8% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 17.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 1985.
- How does South Africa rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- South Africa ranks 144th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 137.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region. 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.