South Africa's access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population) was 79% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 14 percentage points from 65% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 79% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 73% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 65% | 2014 |
| Highest | 79% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 29% | 2000 |
| Average since 2015 | 73.6% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 29% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, South Africa's access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population) rose 1 percentage points on 2023 (from 78% to 79%).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +2.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3 percentage points in 2002. 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 1.33 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% 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, South Africa had the 104th highest value of the 192 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 79% | 2024 |
| World | 56.27% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 8.56% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 78.04% | 2024 |
Closest to South Africa in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural is the proportion of rural population primarily using clean cooking fuels and technologies for cooking. Under WHO guidelines, kerosene is excluded from clean cooking fuels.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 25 values
| Year | Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 79 |
| 2023 | 78 |
| 2022 | 77 |
| 2021 | 76 |
| 2020 | 75 |
| 2019 | 73 |
| 2018 | 72 |
| 2017 | 70 |
| 2016 | 69 |
| 2015 | 67 |
| 2014 |
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 10% (2024)
- Benin — 3% (2024)
- Botswana — 37% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 4% (2024)
- Burundi — 0% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 63% (2024)
- Cameroon — 7% (2024)
- Central African Republic — 0% (2024)
More environment data for South Africa
- Population in largest city — 6.44 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 15.6% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 23.36 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 36.07% (2025)
- Rural population — 23.43 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 36.18% (2025)
- Urban population — 41.32 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 63.82% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 8,439 (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population)?
- 79% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is up 50 percentage points from 29% in 2000. The highest value was 79% in 2024 and the lowest 29% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 104th highest of 192 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population) unusual for South Africa?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.CFT.ACCS.RU.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, International Energy Agency (IEA), note: License: Creative Commons Attribution—NonCommercial 3.0 IGO (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO); International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), note: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report; United Nations (UN), note: Tracking SD… 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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