Africa's share of global electricity generation has stayed persistently small — just 2.6% in 1985 and 3.1% in 2025 — even as continental output grew 283% over the same 40 years.
Within that growth, a shift has occurred among Africa's top producers: roughly 60% came from countries outside its two traditional powerhouses, Egypt and South Africa.
Egypt's own output grew almost every year, from 30.3 TWh in 1985 to 242.4 TWh in 2025. South Africa, by contrast, peaked in 2007 at 263.5 TWh and has declined through a series of lower highs since, down 12% to 231.1 TWh.
South Africa's decline is widely attributed to Eskom's chronic capacity shortfalls and rolling blackouts, while Egypt's growth reflects a sustained buildout of gas-fired power following its own mid-2010s energy crisis.
