Ecuador: Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Ecuador's electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2023 (from 17% to 17.05%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.8 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.54 percentage points in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.51 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Ecuador had the 31st highest value of the 109 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Ecuador in the 2024 ranking

• Morocco — 27th of 109: 18.06%
• Albania — 28th of 109: 18.05%
• Namibia — 29th of 109: 17.79%
• Gibraltar — 31st of 109: 16.53%
• Senegal — 32nd of 109: 16.47%
• Paraguay — 33rd of 109: 16.26%

What this measures

Electric power transmission and distribution losses include losses in transmission between sources of supply and points of distribution and in the distribution to consumers, including pilferage. The losses are expressed as a share of the total output.

Limitations: Electricity consumption is equivalent to production less power plants' own use and transmission, distribution, and transformation losses less exports plus imports. It includes consumption by auxiliary stations, losses in transformers that are considered integral parts of those stations, and electricity produced by pumping installations. Where data are available, it covers electricity generated by primary sources of energy - coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, geothermal, wind, tide and wave, and combustible renewables. Neither production nor consumption data capture the reliability of supplies, including breakdowns, load factors, and frequency of outages.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average using total electricity production as weights.

All 35 values

Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 21.49% (2025)
• Bolivia — 8.91% (2024)
• Brazil — 14.87% (2025)
• Chile — 6.22% (2025)
• Colombia — 6.66% (2025)
• Costa Rica — 9.47% (2025)
• Cuba — 16.21% (2024)
• Curaçao — 10.9% (2024)
• Dominican Republic

More environment data for Ecuador

• Population in largest city — 3.24 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 27.99% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 5.26 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 28.77% (2025)
• Rural population — 6.7 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 36.61% (2025)
• Urban population — 11.59 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 63.39% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 1.24 million (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ecuador's electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output)?

17.05% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 5.49 percentage points from 22.54% in 1990. The highest value was 27.92% in 2007 and the lowest 12.54% in 2017.

How does Ecuador rank?

31st highest of 109 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output) unusual for Ecuador?

In 2024, Ecuador's electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2023 (from 17% to 17.05%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.ELC.LOSS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser, publisher: International Energy Agency (IEA), date accessed: 2025-03-25 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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