South Africa vs Thailand
South Africa vs Thailand: Access to electricity
Access to electricity in 2024: 90.2% in South Africa and 100% in Thailand, by World Bank estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Thailand, by 9.8 percentage points, or 1.11 times that in South Africa.
% of people · World Bank
What the numbers say
- Thailand has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2000.
- The world as a whole: 91.9% in 2024.
Every year
% of people · World Bank
| Year | South Africa | Thailand | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 90.2 | 100 | 91.9 |
| 2023 | 87.7 | 100 | 91.6 |
| 2022 | 86.5 | 99.9 | 91.3 |
| 2021 | 89.3 | 100 | 91.3 |
| 2020 | 90 | 100 | 90.4 |
| 2019 | 85 | 99.9 | 90.1 |
| 2018 | 84.7 | 99.8 | 89.8 |
| 2017 | 84.4 | 99.9 | 88.9 |
| 2016 | 83.9 | 99.9 | 88.1 |
| 2015 | 85.3 | 99.6 | 86.9 |
| 2014 | 85.9 | 99.5 | 86.2 |
| 2013 | 85.2 | 99.4 | 85.7 |
| 2012 | 85.2 | 99.1 | 84.9 |
| 2011 | 83.6 | 99.3 | 84.5 |
| 2010 | 82.8 | 99.7 | 83.5 |
| 2009 | 82.6 | 99 | 82.9 |
| 2008 | 81.9 | 94.8 | 82.7 |
| 2007 | 82 | 94.1 | 82 |
| 2006 | 80.7 | 99.1 | 81.4 |
| 2005 | 80.8 | 92.8 | 80.7 |
| 2004 | 80.6 | 92.2 | 80 |
| 2003 | 78.8 | 91.6 | 80 |
| 2002 | 76.7 | 91 | 79.1 |
| 2001 | 70.2 | 90.4 | 78.7 |
| 2000 | 72.4 | 82.1 | 78.2 |
| 1999 | 71.3 | – | 74.5 |
| 1998 | 64.9 | – | 73.2 |
| 1997 | 69.5 | – | – |
| 1996 | 57.6 | – | – |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- The share of people with access to electricity, from national surveys and the power industry.
- Source: Tracking SDG 7 (World Bank ESMAP), via the World Bank.
- Ranks count the 213 countries with a value in 2024, highest first.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
South Africa vs Thailand
Health
- Life expectancySouth Africa: 66.1 years in 2023Thailand: 76.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySouth Africa: 3.5 per 100 live births in 2024Thailand: 0.9 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySouth Africa: 27.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Thailand: 6.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionSouth Africa: 3.75% in 2017Thailand: 3.09% in 2017
- Suicide rateSouth Africa: 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Thailand: 10.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSouth Africa: 63.2 million people in 2023Thailand: 71.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthSouth Africa: 1.32% a year in 2023Thailand: -0.04% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSouth Africa: 2.22 births per woman in 2023Thailand: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSouth Africa: 63.8% in 2025Thailand: 62.8% in 2025
- Median ageSouth Africa: 28.2 years in 2023Thailand: 39.7 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSouth Africa: 6.5% in 2023Thailand: 14.7% in 2023
- Net migration rateSouth Africa: 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Thailand: 0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSouth Africa: 0.74% of GDP in 2025Thailand: 1.04% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsSouth Africa: $3B in 2025Thailand: $5.57B in 2025
- Military spending per personSouth Africa: $49 in 2025Thailand: $84 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingSouth Africa: 2.2% of government spending in 2025Thailand: 4.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelSouth Africa: 89,000 people in 2020Thailand: 455,000 people in 2020
- National powerSouth Africa: 0.55% of world capability in 2022Thailand: 0.79% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSouth Africa: 0.4% of the labour force in 2020Thailand: 1.13% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSouth Africa: 30 million TIV in 2025Thailand: 33 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsSouth Africa: 115 million TIV in 2025Thailand: 15 million TIV in 2024