China consumes by far the most electricity of any country in the world, with almost 9,000 terawatt-hours equivalent consumed in 2024. The United States ranked as the second-leading electricity consumer that year, with over 4,000 terawatt-hours consumed. India followed, but by a wide margin. Production and consumption disparities China not only leads countries in electricity generation worldwide, it also dominates production, generating over 10 petawatt-hours annually. The United States follows with 4.6 petawatt-hours, significantly more than its consumption of 4,065 terawatt-hours. This disparity underscores the complex relationship between production and consumption, influenced by factors such as energy efficiency, export capabilities, and domestic demand. The global expansion of electricity networks, particularly in Central and Southern Asia, is driving increased production to meet growing access and demand. Shifting energy landscapes The United States, as the second-largest consumer, is experiencing a significant shift in its energy mix. Coal-based electricity has declined by nearly 65 percent since 2010, giving way to natural gas and renewable sources. This transition is evident in recent capacity additions, with renewable energy sources accounting for over 90 percent of new electricity capacity in 2024. The surge in renewable generation, particularly wind power, is reshaping the U.S. energy landscape and influencing consumption patterns. As renewable energy consumption is projected to more than double by 2050, the electricity market is adapting to these changing dynamics.

China is the largest consumer of primary energy in the world, having used some 176.35 exajoules in 2024. This is a lot more than what the United States consumed, which comes in second place. The majority of primary energy fuels worldwide are still derived from fossil fuels, such as oil and coal. China's energy mix China’s primary energy mix has shifted from a dominant use of coal to an increase in natural gas and renewable sources. Since 2013, the renewables share in total energy consumption has grown by around eight percentage points. Overall, global primary energy consumption has increased over the last decade, and it is expected to experience the largest growth in emerging economies like the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China. What is primary energy? Primary energy is the energy inherent in natural resources such as crude oil, coal, and wind before further transformation. For example, crude oil can be refined into secondary fuels, such as gasoline or diesel, while wind is harnessed for electricity - itself a secondary energy source. A country’s total primary energy supply is a measure of the country’s primary energy sources. Meanwhile, end use energy is the energy directly consumed by the user and includes primary fuels such as natural gas, as well as secondary sources, like electricity and gasoline.

Iceland is by far the largest per capita consumer of electricity worldwide, averaging 51.9 megawatt-hours per person in 2024. This results from a combination of factors, such as low-cost electricity production, increased heating demand, and the presence of energy-intensive industries in the country. Norway, Qatar, and Canada were also some of the world's largest electricity consumers per capita that year. China is the leading overall power consumer Power-intensive industries, the purchasing power of the average citizen, household size, and general power efficiency standards all contribute to the amount of electricity that is consumed per person every year. However, in terms of total electricity consumption, a country's size and population can also play an important role. In 2024, the three most populous countries in the world, namely China, the United States, and India, were also the three largest electricity consumers. Global electricity consumption on the rise In 2023, net electricity consumption worldwide amounted to over 27,000 terawatt-hours, an increase of 30 percent in comparison to a decade earlier. When compared to 1980, global electricity consumption more than tripled. On the generation side, the world is still strongly dependent on fossil fuels. Despite the world's renewable energy capacity quintupling in the last decade, coal and gas combined still accounted for almost 60 percent of global electricity generation in 2023.

In 2024, China consumed *****percent of global primary energy, positioning itself as the largest primary energy consumer across the world. The United States followed, with more than ****** the consumption share of India and Russia, the third and fourth-largest consumers worldwide. China’s use of energy Most of the primary energy consumed in China comes from coal, while crude oil is the country’s second most-consumed resource. Primary energy consumption in China has increased ****-fold since 2000 and continues to rise each year. Rapid energy plants construction is a major reason for China's rising energy consumption. Sources of primary energy Primary energy comes directly from natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, and has not yet been subject to transformation through human processes. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas are the most common types of primary energy sources worldwide. Consumption of renewables such as solar and wind currently remains at a much lower level than that of fossil fuels. For instance, the use of coal alone is ***** times greater than that of renewable sources. However, global renewable energy consumption has been growing steadily over the past decades.

Qatar has the highest per capita energy consumption worldwide. In 2023, residents in Qatar used an average of *** megawatt-hours worth of energy - all of which was derived from fossil fuels. Sources of primary energy In 2023, oil and coal were the main fuels used for primary energy worldwide. Except for the Nordic countries and Canada, all other countries listed among the leading 10 consumers sourced energy almost exclusively from fossil fuels. Many of them are also responsible for large oil production shares or the refining thereof. Differences in energy consumption There is a notable disparity between the highest and lowest energy users. Resource-rich countries outside the temperate climate zone tend to use more energy to heat or cool homes and are also more likely to use greater amounts of energy as costs are much lower. For example, electricity prices in oil and gas-producing countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia are only a fraction of those of resource-poor countries in Europe. Furthermore, energy consumption disparity is a strong indicator of the different income levels around the world and largely tied to economic prosperity.

The leading countries for installed renewable energy in 2024 were China, the United States, and Brazil. China was the leader in renewable energy installations, with a capacity of around 1,827 gigawatts. The U.S., in second place, had a capacity of around 428 gigawatts. Renewable energy is an important step in addressing climate change and mitigating the consequences of this phenomenon. Renewable energy capacity and productionRenewable power capacity is defined as the maximum generating capacity of installations that use renewable sources to generate electricity. The share of renewable energy in the world’s power production has increased in recent years, surpassing 30 percent in 2023. Renewable energy consumption varies from country to country. The leading countries for renewable energy consumption are China, the United States, and Canada.Renewable energy sourcesThere are various sources of renewable energy used globally, including bioenergy, solar energy, hydropower, and wind energy, to name a few. Globally, China and Brazil are the top two countries in terms of generating the most energy through hydropower. Regarding solar power, China, the United States, and Japan boast the highest installed capacities worldwide.

South Sudan ranked as the least-electrified country in the world in 2022, with only 8.4 percent of its population having access to electricity. Burundi fared only slightly better, with an access rate of around 10 percent. Electricity access in Africa As of 2022, the top 20 least-electrified countries in the world were all located in Africa, except for Papua New Guinea. In fact, while the number of people without electricity worldwide more than halved in the past two decades, the figure for Sub-Saharan Africa has remained fairly stable in the period, accounting for roughly eight out of every 10 people without electricity in 2023. The region also shows great disparities in access between urban and rural areas. In 2022, over 80 percent of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to electricity, while the same was true for only 31 percent of rural dwellers. Global power trends Despite disparities, electricity consumption worldwide has seen continuous growth in the past century, more than tripling since 1980. As more people gain access to this service, and different sectors (such as heating and transportation) see a growth in electrification, global power generation is forecast to double again by the middle of the century.

Primary energy supply in the United States has oscillated since 1998, peaking at 96.95 exajoules in 2007. By 2024, figures had decreased to nearly 91.83 exajoules. Primary energy refers to energy harvested directly from natural resources, before being transformed into electricity or other secondary or tertiary energy forms. It includes both fossil fuels and renewable sources. United States' primary energy demand: global context The U.S. is the second largest primary energy consumer worldwide, only falling behind China. In 2024, China had a primary energy demand of over 176 exajoules. Rounding out the top three, India ranked third and had a total energy consumption of some 41 exajoules. Energy transition in the U.S. Such high energy demand leads to greater carbon emissions. Consequently, 71 percent of U.S. citizens are in favor of speeding up the transition to clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Despite the increase in clean energy investments in the U.S., the country’s main energy sources are still fossil fuels. However, the share of renewables in electricity generation has increased to almost 24 percent as of 2024.

The volume of electricity generated across India between April 2023 and March 2024 was over 1,700 billion units. The largest share came from thermal power, at around 76 percent of the total electricity generation in the country. India’s power consumption As electricity production, electricity consumption in India has grown steadily over the past decades. The industrial sector accounted for the largest share of the total power consumption in the country, followed by the domestic and agricultural sectors. Electricity sources Despite the global urgency to shift to green energy sources, India’s power sector mainly relies on fossil fuels. In 2022, coal electricity generation increased by over 90 terawatt-hours compared to 2021, while the combined growth in renewable power production was approximately 40 terawatt-hours. That same year, the country’s investments in renewable energy amounted to 11.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Global primary energy consumption has increased dramatically in recent years and is projected to continue to increase until 2045. Only hydropower and renewable energy consumption are expected to increase between 2045 and 2050 and reach 30 percent of the global energy consumption. Energy consumption by country The distribution of energy consumption globally is disproportionately high among some countries. China, the United States, and India were by far the largest consumers of primary energy globally. On a per capita basis, it was Qatar, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Iceland to have the highest per capita energy consumption. Renewable energy consumption Over the last two decades, renewable energy consumption has increased to reach over 90 exajoules in 2023. Among all countries globally, China had the largest installed renewable energy capacity as of that year, followed by the United States.

The world’s two largest coal consuming countries in 2024 were also the world’s *** most populous nations: China and India, at ** and ** exajoules consumed, respectively. In the case of China, this equates to approximately ** percent of the global coal consumption, whereas India accounted for **** percent. Global coal consumption Global coal consumption has been steadily increasing since 1998. That year, the global consumption amounted to **** exajoules. In 2010, consumption of coal reached ***** exajoules. This figure increased to ****** exajoules by 2023. China’s coal consumption over time As one of the largest consumers of coal in the world, China’s coal consumption has more than ******* since 1998. That year, the nation consumed **** exajoules. However, since 2013, China has been slowly decreasing the consumption rate. In 2013, the East Asian country consumed **** exajoules, and in 2016 this figure dropped to around ** exajoules. The latest data shows that in 2023, China consumed ***** exajoules worth of coal. From 2015 to 2016, China’s coal consumption decreased by *** percent. However, consumption increased from 2018 to 2019 by some *** percent. Coal also represents the largest source of energy consumption in China, accounting for **** percent of total energy consumption in 2023.

Ireland, Italy, and Germany had some of the highest household electricity prices worldwide, as of March 2025. At the time, Irish households were charged around 0.45 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, while in Italy, the price stood at 0.43 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, in Russia, residents paid almost 10 times less. What is behind electricity prices? Electricity prices vary widely across the world and sometimes even within a country itself, depending on factors like infrastructure, geography, and politically determined taxes and levies. For example, in Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden, taxes constitute a significant portion of residential end-user electricity prices. Reliance on fossil fuel imports Meanwhile, thanks to their great crude oil and natural gas production output, countries like Iran, Qatar, and Russia enjoy some of the cheapest electricity prices in the world. Here, the average household pays less than 0.1 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, countries heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports for electricity generation are more vulnerable to market price fluctuations.

In 2023, China was by far the largest consumer of coal in the world. That year, the country used some **** billion million metric tons of the fossil fuel, which translated to more than half of total worldwide coal consumption. India and the United States followed as the second and third largest coal consumers, with wide margins between all three of the countries. The role of coal in China's energy sector Due to substantial deposits within its territory, coal has long been a major source of energy in China. This is particularly true for power and heat generation. In 2022, the coal share of total electricity production in China still amounted to more than ** percent, despite recent gains in China's renewable energy output. As an economic powerhouse requiring huge amounts of energy, China is not only the largest consumer of coal, but also the world's largest renewable energy consumer. Most consumed energy sources Although many countries are actively striving to increase renewable capacity additions in an effort to curb their carbon footprint, phasing out fossil fuels has proven challenging. Oil, natural gas, and coal remain by far the most consumed primary energy types in the world, their share in final consumption having changed only marginally in the last four years. This is also due to the wide spectrum of usage applications, such as within the transportation sector and for manufacturing industries.

In 2023, China consumed 27.4 percent of global primary energy, positioning itself as the largest primary energy consumer across the world. The United States followed, with more than double the consumption share of India and Russia, the third and fourth-largest consumers worldwide. China’s use of energy Most of the primary energy consumed in China comes from coal, while crude oil is the country’s second most-consumed resource. Primary energy consumption in China has increased four-fold since 2000 and continues to rise each year. Rapid energy plants construction is a major reason for China's rising energy consumption. Sources of primary energy Primary energy comes directly from natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, and has not yet been subject to transformation through human processes. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas are the most common types of primary energy sources worldwide. Consumption of renewables such as solar and wind currently remains at a much lower level than that of fossil fuels. For instance, the use of coal alone is three times greater than that of renewable sources. However, global renewable energy consumption has been growing steadily over the past decades.

China has the highest installed capacity of coal power plants in the world. As of July 2024, it operated coal plants with a combined capacity of 1,147.23 gigawatts. This was more than five times the operational capacity of coal plants in the United States, which ranked third. China's carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion surpassed 8.2 billion metric tons in 2022 - roughly 70 percent of the country's total emissions. Coal power plant pipeline While coal use has come under harsh scrutiny over its highly polluting nature, the industry has continued investing in new coal-fired generation plants. The global installed coal power generation capacity is projected to remain at around 2.3 terawatts over the coming decades. Worldwide, about 204 gigawatts of new coal capacity was under construction in 2023, with a further 353 gigawatts in various stages of planning. However, the capacity of the coal plant pipeline has decreased over the last few years. These announced coal power plants around the world were primarily to serve the growth in coal demand from new power plants in India and China.

Fossil fuels remain the greatest source of electricity generation worldwide. In 2023, coal accounted for roughly **** percent of the global power mix, while natural gas followed with a ** percent share. China, India, and the United States accounted for the largest share of coal used for electricity generation. The future of renewable energy Fossil fuel use notwithstanding, the share of renewables in global electricity has seen a more pronounced year-on-year growth in recent years, following increased efforts by governments to combat global warming and a decrease in levelized costs. Projections indicate that renewables will surpass fossil fuels as the main power source by 2040. Electricity consumption in the world China is the largest electricity consumer in the world, requiring more than ***** terawatt-hours of electricity every year. However, this economic power accounts for the largest population in the world and its electricity consumption per capita is almost tenfold smaller than the consumption of Iceland, although the power used in this country came almost completely from clean sources.

Datang Tuoketuo power station in China is the largest operational coal power plant in the world. As of 2021, the power station had a capacity of roughly 6.7 gigawatts. Ranking second and third, Taean power station and Dangjin power station had a gross generating capacity of 6.4 and 6.04 gigawatts, respectively. Six out of the ten largest coal power plants in the world are in China. Unsurprisingly, the East Asian country has the highest coal consumption, and by far the largest number of operational coal power plants in the world.

The future of coal Following the 2015 Paris Agreement, major coal using countries recognized the need to change the coal energy industry, substituting coal for electricity generation with cleaner energy sources. In addition to health threats, coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and therefore it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from this source to mitigate global climate change. Over 40 countries pledged to quit coal in the 2021 COP26 climate summit.

Will coal ever be phased out? Despite the common conclusion that coal should be phased out, a lot of countries still depend on this source to guarantee enough electricity for their population. In 2021, Mongolia’s coal share in the power mix stood at over 88 percent. South Africa and India followed, ranking second and third with a coal share of 84 and 74 percent of the total electricity mix, respectively. That year, the global average was around 36.5 percent. These figures represent the disparity between various countries and their continued reliance on coal.

As of February 2024, the private sector in India had the highest installed renewable energy capacity with approximately 223 thousand megawatts. The government of the south Asian country was committed to increased use of clean energy sources and through small and large scale projects. In addition to renewable energy generation, the projects also aimed to create employment opportunities, especially in the rural areas.

The United States was the leading biofuel producer in the world in 2024, with production amounting to 1,917 petajoules. Brazil and Indonesia ranked second and third, with figures at roughly 1,143 and 459 petajoules, respectively. By comparison, Germany's biofuel production reached around 149 petajoules that year, placing the country amongst the top five countries in biofuel production, and the leading producer in Europe. Biofuel production in the U.S. Biofuels are characterized by fuels that obtain their energy through the process of biological carbon fixation. These hydrocarbons are made by or from living organisms in a relatively short period of time - in comparison to the formation of fossil fuels which requires millions of years. The United States is by far the largest producer of biofuel in the world, accounting for nearly 38.8 percent of global biofuel production in 2023. The country is a major producer of biodiesel, with that year's production amounting to 1.7 billion gallons. Global biofuel production has gradually increased from 180 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2000 to nearly one million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023. Biofuels are commonly used as part of mixtures with fossil fuel sources or as additives. One of the largest consumers of biofuels in the U.S. is the national army. Many vehicles can be fueled using blends containing up to 10 percent ethanol. In the beginning of the 20th century, many Ford T models were fueled with ethanol. Biofuels can also be generated through the consumption or conversion of biomass material. This conversion can occur thermally, chemically, or biochemically. Biomass consumption in the United States totaled 4,975 trillion British thermal units in 2023.

At the end of fiscal year 2022, the installed power capacity across Jharkhand in India was around 2,735 megawatts. In 2021, the south Asian country was the third largest producer as well as consumer of electricity in the world. The country's national electric grid had an installed capacity of approximately 382 gigawatts in that year. Of this capacity, almost three quarters of electricity was produced through fossil fuels.