The stories behind the numbers
Electricity demand in 2024: what does 4.3% growth mean?
The IEA’s Global Energy Review 2025 reported that world electricity demand rose by 4.3% in 2024 compared with 2023. This describes a change in the amount of electricity demanded, not the share of a particular energy source.
According to the IEA, by what percentage did global electricity demand increase from 2023 to 2024?
Answer and explanation: 4.3 %
It increased by 4.3%. This is growth relative to the previous year’s demand, not a percentage-point change in a share.
IEA · Global Energy Review 2025Try one question
According to the IEA, by what percentage did global electricity demand increase from 2023 to 2024?
Reveal the answer
Answer and explanation
4.3 %
It increased by 4.3%. This is growth relative to the previous year’s demand, not a percentage-point change in a share.
The previous year is the baseline
To calculate the rate, subtract the previous year’s demand from the new year’s demand, divide by the previous year’s demand and multiply by 100. For an illustrative index, setting 2023 to 100 makes 2024 equal to 104.3. Those are index values, not a measurement in kilowatt-hours.
Percent and percentage points
A percentage-point change is the subtraction of two percentages. In a separate hypothetical example, a share rising from 10% to 12% increases by 2 percentage points, or 20% relative to its starting value. The IEA’s 4.3% is also a relative growth rate: it compares electricity quantities with the previous year, rather than subtracting two shares.
What growth does not tell you
The IEA identifies factors including cooling during extreme heat, industry, transport electrification and data centres. The global rate does not imply that every country or household used 4.3% more electricity. Nor does it mean electricity bills or emissions rose by the same percentage: prices, the generation mix and other factors matter.
Always name the baseline: 2024 world electricity demand compared with 2023, up 4.3%.