Transmission and distribution losses — all countries

Transmission and distribution losses — Low-income countries

Transmission and distribution losses in low-income countries in 2022 — 18.07%. Since 2012, the indicator has fallen by 0.32 pp.

2022 18.07% −0.26 pp vs 2021
World rank
Period maximum 18.39%2012
Period minimum 17.55%2016

Trend over time

2012–2022 · % of output

Transmission and distribution losses — Low-income countries, 2012–202217.517.751818.2518.5201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222012: 18.39%2015: 18.1%2016: 17.55%2017: 17.62%2018: 17.99%2019: 17.75%2020: 17.68%2021: 18.33%2022: 18.07%
Change over the period: −0.32 pp Annual average: -0.03 pp

Comparison, 2022

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Low-income countries

Low-income countries 18.07%
World 6.77%
Transmission and distribution losses — Low-income countries, by year Low-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2022 18.07 −0.26 pp
2021 18.33 +0.65 pp
2020 17.68 −0.06 pp
2019 17.75 −0.24 pp
2018 17.99 +0.37 pp
2017 17.62 +0.07 pp
2016 17.55 −0.54 pp
2015 18.1
2012 18.39

About the indicator

Electricity losses in transmission and distribution as a percent of output. The figure includes both physical losses in wires and transformers and so-called commercial losses — unmetered consumption, illegal connections, unpaid bills. Statistics cannot separate them, and that is exactly why the indicator serves as an indirect measure of the state of the network: physical losses in a sound grid rarely exceed eight percent, while values above twenty almost always mean problems with metering and bill collection.

Important: Technical and commercial losses together; the source does not allow them to be separated. Aggregates are weighted by generation in terawatt-hours and computed from 2000 onward.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.