Ember · Solar Share of Electricity Generation
Solar electricity by country
What share of electricity comes from solar power?
Of the 165 countries compared in 2024, Cook Islands had the highest reading, 50.000%, and 18 countries shared the lowest reading, 0.000%. In the middle country the figure was 3.049%. Among the 162 countries measured in every edition since 2000, the middle one moved from 0.000% to 3.333%.
Share
Solar electricity · 2024
Context statistic
Highest of 165Cook Islands
50.000%012024 · values only
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 165 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Lowest in 2024
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines0.000%
Turkmenistan0.000%
Tajikistan0.000%
This statistic has no better end: the two ends describe size, not success.
02Every measured country
Solar electricity on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- 0.000–0.287%
- 0.292–1.675%
- 1.700–4.800%
- 4.918–11.111%
- 11.238–50.000%
- No reading in 2024 (9 measured in an earlier edition)
- Oceania
8.602%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members
Cook Islands50.000%
Papua New Guinea0.211%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Europe
8.516%
the middle country, of 33 measured · 49 members
Hungary24.227%
Iceland0.052%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Americas
2.314%
the middle country, of 36 measured · 48 members
Chile22.783%6 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
1.770%
the middle country, of 46 measured · 55 members
Namibia35.366%7 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Asia
1.675%
the middle country, of 37 measured · 52 members
Palestine39.394%5 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Polynesia
14.286%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
Cook Islands50.000%
American Samoa5.556%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Europe
13.451%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 17 members
Spain20.750%
Serbia0.433%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Europe
11.266%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg23.841%
France4.439%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Western Asia
6.104%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 19 members
Palestine39.394%
Georgia0.215%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Eastern Europe
5.708%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 10 members
Hungary24.227%
Belarus0.567%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Southern Asia
4.129%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Pakistan13.132%
Bhutan0.000%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Northern Europe
3.508%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
Lithuania18.922%Iceland0.052%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Africa
3.005%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Togo18.310%2 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Caribbean
3.000%
the middle country, of 17 measured · 24 members
Barbados9.009%4 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Africa
2.356%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 19 members
Somalia18.605%2 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Central America
2.128%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
El Salvador19.147%
Nicaragua0.664%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- South America
1.526%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 12 members
Chile22.783%
Paraguay0.000%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- South-eastern Asia
1.114%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 11 members
Cambodia6.912%
Laos0.172%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Eastern Asia
0.627%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
China8.369%
Macau0.000%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
0.183%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
DR Congo15.766%3 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: New Zealand.
New Zealand0.841%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan3.558%3 share 0.000%
Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands9.091%Papua New Guinea0.211%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Guam, Kiribati, Nauru.
Kiribati25.000%
Guam8.602%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern Africa
4 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia.
Tunisia2.620%
Libya0.029%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Greenland, United States.
United States6.918%
Greenland0.000%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Southern Africa
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia.
Namibia35.366%
Botswana0.292%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
165 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 3.049%; a quarter are above 9.091%, and a quarter below 0.546%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 174 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Neither end is better. A grid powered by dams or geothermal plants can read close to zero here and still be almost entirely clean, and a small island can read high on very little generation. Read the renewables and total generation columns beside it.
Showing 25 of 174 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2024 · 25 editions
Over time
Each point is one year from 2000. Almost every country sits at or near zero until about 2010, so the last decade carries nearly all of the movement.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 162 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 165 | 3.049% | 0.546% – 9.091% | 3.333% |
| 2023 | 173 | 2.066% | 0.240% – 7.195% | 2.327% |
| 2022 | 174 | 1.658% | 0.213% – 5.838% | 2.074% |
| 2021 | 174 | 0.968% | 0.111% – 4.518% | 1.304% |
| 2020 | 174 | 0.782% | 0.029% – 3.371% | 0.902% |
| 2019 | 174 | 0.623% | 0.008% – 2.823% | 0.794% |
| 2018 | 174 | 0.370% | 0.000% – 2.249% | 0.427% |
| 2017 | 174 | 0.228% | 0.000% – 1.843% | 0.313% |
| 2016 | 174 | 0.118% | 0.000% – 1.182% | 0.140% |
| 2015 | 174 | 0.032% | 0.000% – 0.960% | 0.075% |
| 2014 | 174 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.295% | 0.000% |
| 2013 | 174 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.094% | 0.000% |
| 2012 | 174 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.016% | 0.000% |
| 2011 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2010 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2009 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2008 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2007 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2006 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2005 | 173 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2004 | 172 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2003 | 172 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2002 | 171 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2001 | 171 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
| 2000 | 171 | 0.000% | 0.000% – 0.000% | 0.000% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Rose most
before → after
Nauru0.000% → 20.000%+20.000
North Macedonia5.362% → 14.105%+8.743- Namibia26.984% → 35.366%+8.382
Lebanon22.293% → 29.963%+7.670- Lithuania13.019% → 18.922%+5.903
Fell most
before → after- El Salvador20.067% → 19.147%−0.920
- Palestine40.000% → 39.394%−0.606
Rwanda3.636% → 3.540%−0.096
Belize2.222% → 2.128%−0.094
Denmark10.800% → 10.739%−0.061
165 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 173 to 165 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Solar electricity in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
50.000%
Solar (% of electricity generated)
Lowest reading on record
Reached 2694 times by 167 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0.000%
Solar (% of electricity generated)
Biggest rise between editions
+25.835
2.998% → 28.833%
Biggest fall between editions
−15.000
40.000% → 25.000%
Biggest change since first measured
+50.000
0.000% → 50.000%
Highest most often
6 of 25
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About solar electricity
This is the share of a country’s electricity generation that came from solar power — panels in fields and on rooftops, and solar thermal plants. Ember compiles it each year from national reporting.
What the number is: Solar (% of electricity generated).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Environment & Sustainability and Energy, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Environment & SustainabilityEnergyWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where solar electricity is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Wind and Solar Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 165 countries in commonρ 0.87
- Solar Electricity Installed CapacityEIA · 165 countries in commonρ 0.52
- Complexity Outlook IndexGrowth Lab at Harvard University · 117 countries in commonρ 0.50
Moves against
Where solar electricity is higher, these tend to be lower.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 355 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
More from Ember
- Carbon Intensity of Electricity
- Coal Share of Electricity Generation
- Gas Share of Electricity Generation
- Hydro Share of Electricity Generation
- Low-Carbon Share of Electricity Generation
- Net Electricity Imports (share of generation)
- Nuclear Share of Electricity Generation
- Renewable Share of Electricity Generation
- All statistics
11Questions
Solar electricity: questions and answers
Which country has the highest solar electricity?
Cook Islands, at 50.000%, among the 165 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the lowest solar electricity?
18 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000%, among the 165 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
How many countries does the Solar Share of Electricity Generation cover?
165 in 2024, and 174 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 165 to 174 between editions.
What is the world average solar electricity?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 165 compared in 2024, the figure was 3.049%.
Is this Ember’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. Ember publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Solar Share of Electricity Generation published?
This site holds 25 editions, describing 2000 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Ember, under CC BY 4.0. From Ember’s Yearly Electricity Data, the same public download its own data explorer offers. The percentages are Ember’s own, not recomputed here. Some countries are not shown — India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom among them — because Ember takes their figures from publishers whose terms do not allow reuse on a commercial site. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Solar Share of Electricity Generation — Ember
From Ember’s Yearly Electricity Data, the same public download its own data explorer offers. The percentages are Ember’s own, not recomputed here. Some countries are not shown — India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom among them — because Ember takes their figures from publishers whose terms do not allow reuse on a commercial site.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: Ember. Yearly Electricity Data. London: Ember (Ember Energy Research CIC).
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-10-03.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: Ember publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Solar electricity by country: Solar Share of Electricity Generation, data from Ember. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/solar-electricity