Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD): Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s electricity production from coal sources (% of total) rose 2.31 percentage points on 2023 (from 40.6% to 42.91%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.92 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.31 percentage points in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.54 percentage points in 2014. 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 downward, about 1.26 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 90% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

The share of electricity production from coal sources of total electricity production. Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category.

Limitations: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable.

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

All 35 values

Electricity production from coal sources (% of total) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0% (2021)
• Algeria — 0% (2021)
• Bahrain — 0% (2023)
• Djibouti — 0% (2021)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 0% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.18% (2024)
• Iraq — 0% (2021)
• Israel — 9.32% (2025)
• Jordan — 14.42% (2024)
• Kuwait

More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 25.39% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 16.33% (2025)
• Rural population — 731.42 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 55.34% (2025)
• Urban population — 590.23 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 44.66% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 904,661 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 8.8 million (2024)

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s electricity production from coal sources (% of total)?

42.91% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 27.73 percentage points from 70.64% in 1990. The highest value was 71.95% in 1993 and the lowest 40.6% in 2023.

Is the latest change in electricity production from coal sources (% of total) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD)'s electricity production from coal sources (% of total) rose 2.31 percentage points on 2023 (from 40.6% to 42.91%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −1.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.92 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.ELC.COAL.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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