In a major step for a more sustainable, secure and equitable global energy future, South Africa joined the IEA family as our 8th Association country on Tuesday 6 November.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony in Cape Town alongside HE Jeff Radebe, Minister of Energy of the Republic of South Africa, Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director, said the decision was a demonstration of “South Africa’s leadership both in Africa and beyond.”

South Africa is a major player in African energy markets and the largest energy consumer on the continent, accounting for about half of Africa’s electricity capacity. Find out more about South Africa and energy.
A leader in energy access in sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa is also a regional leader in providing access to modern energy. It has shown steady progress in providing access to electricity, reaching over 84% of the population in 2017. But progress across the African continent has been uneven. Only about 40% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, enjoys access to modern energy services while just 16% have primary access to clean cooking facilities.

But a recent milestone was recently achieved. Read more about the world’s progress on energy access in one of our latest commentaries “Population without access to electricity falls below 1 billion” by IEA Chief Energy Modeler Laura Cozzi with Olivia Chen, Hannah Daly and Aaron Koh.