South Africa

ZAF · 2024 energy mix · renewables 3.5% · fossil fuels 95.0%

Threat reading 35 of 100, classified HIGH THREAT, HOLDING. 3 events recorded here in the last seven days, 3 in the last thirty.

That number is computed from live feeds and moves. The live monitor is where to read it as of right now.

Where its energy comes from

Coal71.8%
Oil19.7%
Gas3.5%
Wind2.0%
Nuclear1.4%
Solar1.2%
Hydro0.2%
Other renewables0.1%

In 2024, renewables accounted for 3.5% and fossil fuels for 95.0%. On electricity traded with its neighbours, South Africa is close to balanced on electricity trade.

Sources under one per cent of the mix are left out of the table rather than listed as a row of zeroes. Percentages are shares of a country's primary energy, not of the power it generates.

Recorded history

NOAA's hazard records hold 14 significant earthquakes and one tsunami in or just off South Africa since 1809.

The deadliest was the 21 July 1997 magnitude 5.0 earthquake (South Africa: Avgold's Hartebeestfontein Mine), which killed 15 people.

The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 7.9, on 10 November 1942 (South Africa: Prince Edward Island).

The most recent entry is the 3 May 2018 magnitude 2.1 earthquake (South Africa: West Rand), which killed 7 people.

Across the entries that record a death toll, 55 people died.

DateWhatWhereToll
21 July 1997magnitude 5.0 earthquakeSouth Africa: Avgold's Hartebeestfontein Mine15 dead
29 September 1969magnitude 6.3 earthquakeSouth Africa: Cape Province12 dead, $24 million damage
18 October 1990magnitude 4.0 earthquakeSouth Africa: Charletonville10 dead
3 May 2018magnitude 2.1 earthquakeSouth Africa: West Rand7 dead
8 December 1976magnitude 5.2 earthquakeSouth Africa4 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
9 March 2005magnitude 4.3 earthquakeSouth Africa: Klerksdorp, Stilfontein2 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
26 September 1990magnitude 4.2 earthquakeSouth Africa: Welkom2 dead, damage under $1 million
6 December 2009magnitude 3.5 earthquakeSouth Africa: Carletonville2 dead
5 August 2014magnitude 5.4 earthquakeSouth Africa: Orkney1 dead, 13 homes destroyed, $40 million damage
10 November 1942magnitude 7.9 earthquakeSouth Africa: Prince Edward Island-
5 October 1969magnitude 5.8 earthquakeSouth Africa: Tulbaghdamage $1 to 5 million
20 August 2008tsunami (waves to 2.5 m)Southern Atlantic Oceandamage under $1 million
5 October 1986magnitude 4.8 earthquakeSouth Africa: Mount Frere, Durbandamage under $1 million
7 February 2000magnitude 4.5 earthquakeSouth Africa; Swaziland: Mbabane-manzinidamage under $1 million
4 December 1809earthquakeSouth Africa: Cape of Good Hopedamage under $1 million

A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.

Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.

In the last 30 days

The most recent events our feeds placed in South Africa:

What the threat reading is made of

Conflict33
Unrest0
Security0
Spillover from neighbours10
Natural hazard25
Resilience65

Each is 0 to 100. Resilience runs the other way to the rest: a high number is a country better able to absorb a shock, not a country in more trouble.

Other countries tracked

All countries with a page.

Where the data comes from

Energy mix, 2024: Our World in Data, energy dataset (https://github.com/owid/energy-data), compiled by Pablo Rosado, Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. Licence: Our World in Data's own compilation is CC BY 4.0. The underlying figures stay under their original terms: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, U.S. EIA, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. The percentages shown here and the wording are ours. Threat reading: computed by Rift Web from the feeds listed on the sources page.