Short answer
Statistics South Africa reports that 90.6% of South African households were connected to mains electricity in 2025, up from 76.7% in 2002.
That is an increase of 13.9 percentage points:
- 2025: 90.6%
- 2002: 76.7%
- Change: 90.6 − 76.7 = 13.9 percentage points
This means the statistic is correctly described as a percentage-point increase, not a 13.9% increase.
Context
The claim refers to the share of households connected to mains electricity in South Africa. A mains-electricity connection generally means that a household is linked to the formal electricity supply network, as measured in household survey data.
The long-term trend shows a substantial expansion in electrification since the early 2000s. In 2002, just over three-quarters of households were connected to mains electricity. By 2025, the share had risen to just over nine in ten households.
This statistic measures access to a connection. It should not be read as measuring every aspect of electricity service quality, such as affordability, frequency of use, voltage quality, or interruptions in supply. Those are different questions from whether a household is connected to mains electricity.
Interesting comparisons
The change can be understood in a few simple ways:
- The connected share rose from 76.7% to 90.6% over the period.
- The increase was 13.9 percentage points over 23 years.
- In 2002, about 23.3% of households were not connected to mains electricity, based on the reported national percentage.
- In 2025, about 9.4% of households were not connected, using the same calculation.
These comparisons are based directly on the reported percentages. They show that the share of households without a mains-electricity connection fell over the period, while the connected share increased.
A useful technical point is the difference between percentage points and percent change. Moving from 76.7% to 90.6% is a rise of 13.9 percentage points. As a relative increase compared with the 2002 level, it would be about 18.1%, but the claim correctly uses percentage points because it is comparing two percentages.
What the data means
The data indicates that household electrification expanded nationally between 2002 and 2025. By 2025, mains-electricity connection had become nearly universal, but not complete: the reported figure of 90.6% still implies that a minority of households were not connected.
The statistic supports a narrow but important conclusion: the proportion of households with a mains-electricity connection was higher in 2025 than in 2002. It does not, by itself, explain why the increase occurred, which areas improved fastest, or whether all connected households had reliable or affordable electricity. Those questions would require additional data beyond the figures in the claim.
For this reason, the safest interpretation is:
- Data: mains-electricity connection increased from 76.7% to 90.6%.
- Calculation: the increase was 13.9 percentage points.
- Interpretation: South Africa’s household electrification level was substantially higher in 2025 than in 2002, though some households remained unconnected.
Source and methodology
The figures come from Statistics South Africa household survey reporting, specifically the cited source page for the mains-electricity connection series.
The calculation is straightforward:
90.6% - 76.7% = 13.9 percentage points
Because the statistic compares two shares of households, the appropriate unit is percentage points. A percentage-point change is the direct arithmetic difference between two percentages.
Statistics South Africa’s household survey data are designed to estimate living conditions and access to services among households. The reported electrification percentages are survey-based national estimates, not a count of individual electricity meters. As with survey statistics, the figures should be understood as estimates of household access at the time of data collection.