Malawi's access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) was 59.5% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 13.4 percentage points from 46.1% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 59.5% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 45.5% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 46.1% | 2014 |
| Highest | 59.5% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 19.02% | 1993 |
| Average since 2015 | 51.78% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 19.8% | 1992 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) rose 1.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 57.8% to 59.5%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.33 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 15.5 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.5 percentage points in 2006. 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 1.27 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 45% 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, Malawi had the 206th highest value of the 212 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Malawi | 59.5% | 2024 |
| World | 97.76% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 82.87% | 2024 |
| Low income | 77.63% | 2024 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
- Niger — 203rd of 212: 69.1%
- Papua New Guinea — 204th of 212: 66.8%
- Guinea-Bissau — 205th of 212: 65.6%
- Sierra Leone — 207th of 212: 56.4%
- Liberia — 208th of 212: 55.5%
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 209th of 212: 55%
What this measures
Access to electricity, urban is the percentage of urban population with access to electricity.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 33 values
| Year | Access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 59.5 |
| 2023 | 57.8 |
| 2022 | 54 |
| 2021 | 54.2 |
| 2020 | 49.6 |
| 2019 | 45.5 |
| 2018 | 49 |
| 2017 | 57.5 |
| 2016 | 42 |
| 2015 | 48.7 |
| 2014 |
Access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 78% (2024)
- Benin — 71.6% (2024)
- Botswana — 96.7% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 87.8% (2024)
- Burundi — 70% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 98.6% (2024)
- Cameroon — 95.6% (2024)
- Central African Republic — 38.8% (2024)
- Chad — 51% (2024)
- Comoros
More environment data for Malawi
- Population in largest city — 1.39 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 35.64% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 1.39 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 6.27% (2025)
- Rural population — 18.31 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 82.41% (2025)
- Urban population — 3.91 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 17.6% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 4,800 (2024)
- Capture fisheries production (metric tons)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's access to electricity, urban (% of urban population)?
- 59.5% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1992?
- It is up 39.7 percentage points from 19.8% in 1992. The highest value was 59.5% in 2024 and the lowest 19.02% in 1993.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 206th highest of 212 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) rose 1.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 57.8% to 59.5%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.33 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.ACCS.UR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank (WB), uri: https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/downloads, note: Data is downloaded from ESMAP website. Data is released when a new Tracking SDG7 report is released., publisher: World Bank (WB), date accessed: 2024-05-16, date published: 2023 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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