Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia
Zambia: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 87.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of 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 %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 87.5% for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia peaked at 99.9% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 84.6%, in 2018.
Zambia ranks 29th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 99.5% | — |
| 2001 | 99.4% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 99.9% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 99.9% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 99.9% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 97.2% | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 97.0% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 94.3% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 86.3% | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 84.6% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 84.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 85.5% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 92.0% | +7.6% |
| 2022 | 88.9% | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 89.0% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 87.5% | -1.7% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 87.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 36.1%, 2.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 87.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 32.1%, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 99.6% | 99.3% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 94.4% | 84.6% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.6% | 85.5% | 92.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 26 Kenya 90.0% compare
- 27 Brazil 88.7% compare
- 28 New Zealand 88.5% compare
- 30 Belize 87.2% compare
- 31 Afghanistan 86.9% compare
- 32 El Salvador 86.5% 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 share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Zambia was 87.5% in 2024, 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 84.6% in 2018.
- How does Zambia rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- Zambia ranks 29th out of 213 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Share 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 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.