Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa
South Africa: Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban was 96.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa, 2000–2023
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). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa is 96.5%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa peaked at 96.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 76.9%, in 2000.
South Africa ranks 98th of 189 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 76.9% | — |
| 2001 | 77.9% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 79.1% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 80.3% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 81.7% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 83.0% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 84.3% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 85.5% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 86.7% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 87.9% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 89.0% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 90.1% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 91.0% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 91.7% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 92.5% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 93.2% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 93.9% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 94.4% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 94.9% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 95.2% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 95.7% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 96.0% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 96.3% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 96.5% | +0.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 96.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.5%, 1.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 96.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 26.9%, 3.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 82.3% | 76.9% | 87.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 92.6% | 89.0% | 95.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.1% | 95.7% | 96.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 95 Tuvalu 97.2% compare
- 96 Dominican Republic 96.9% compare
- 97 Uzbekistan 96.8% compare
- 98 Jamaica 96.5% compare
- 98 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 96.5% compare
- 101 Gabon 96.1% compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Cropland — Area, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Cropland — Area, per unit of GDP 0 1000 ha per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cropland — Area, per capita 0.0002 1000 ha per person (2024)
- Arable land — Area, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arable land — Area, per unit of GDP 0 1000 ha per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa?
- Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban in South Africa was 96.5% in 2023, according to 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).
- What is the highest access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 96.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.9% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban?
- South Africa ranks 98th out of 189 countries with data for 2023.
- Is access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from 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), published as part of Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, urban is the proportion of urban population primarily using clean cooking fuels and technologies for cooking. Under WHO guidelines, kerosene is excluded from clean cooking fuels.