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.

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.

The average for 2022 based on 146 countries was 2347.08 kilograms of oil equivalent. The highest value was in Qatar: 16683.66 kilograms of oil equivalent and the lowest value was in Yemen: 68.95 kilograms of oil equivalent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 190 countries was 139.5 billion kilowatthours. The highest value was in China: 8349.31 billion kilowatthours and the lowest value was in Montserrat: 0.02 billion kilowatthours. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

Global Energy Consumption in Industry by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Energy Consumption in Agriculture by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This table expresses the use of renewable energy as gross final consumption of energy. Figures are presented in an absolute way, as well as related to the total energy use in the Netherlands. The total gross final energy consumption in the Netherlands (the denominator used to calculate the percentage of renewable energy per ‘Energy sources and techniques’) can be found in the table as ‘Total, including non-renewables’ and Energy application ‘Total’. The gross final energy consumption for the energy applications ‘Electricity’ and ‘Heat’ are also available. With these figures the percentages of the different energy sources and applications can be calculated; these values are not available in this table. The gross final energy consumption for ‘Transport’ is not available because of the complexity to calculate this. More information on this can be found in the yearly publication ‘Hernieuwbare energie in Nederland’.

Renewable energy is energy from wind, hydro power, the sun, the earth, heat from outdoor air and biomass. This is energy from natural processes that is replenished constantly.

The figures are broken down into energy source/technique and into energy application (electricity, heat and transport).

This table focuses on the share of renewable energy according to the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Under this directive, countries can apply an administrative transfer by purchasing renewable energy from countries that have consumed more renewable energy than the agreed target. For 2020, the Netherlands has implemented such a transfer by purchasing renewable energy from Denmark. This transfer has been made visible in this table as a separate energy source/technique and two totals are included; a total with statistical transfer and a total without statistical transfer.

Figures for 2020 and before were calculated based on RED I; in accordance with Eurostat these figures will not be modified anymore. Inconsistencies with other tables undergoing updates may occur.

Data available from: 1990

Status of the figures: This table contains definite figures up to and including 2022, figures for 2023 are revised provisional figures and figures for 2024 are provisional.

Changes as of July 2025: Compiling figures on solar electricity took more time than scheduled. Consequently, not all StatLine tables on energy contain the most recent 2024 data on production for solar electricity. This table contains the outdated data from June 2025. The most recent figures are 5 percent higher for 2024 solar electricity production. These figures are in these two tables (in Dutch): - StatLine - Zonnestroom; vermogen en vermogensklasse, bedrijven en woningen, regio - StatLine - Hernieuwbare energie; zonnestroom, windenergie, RES-regio Next update is scheduled in November 2025. From that moment all figures will be fully consistent again. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Changes as of june 2025: Figures for 2024 have been added.

Changes as of January 2025 Renewable cooling has been added as Energy source and technique from 2021 onwards, in accordance with RED II. Figures for 2020 and earlier follow RED I definitions, renewable cooling isn’t a part of these definitions.
The energy application “Heat” has been renamed to “Heating and cooling”, in accordance with RED II definitions. RED II is the current Renewable Energy Directive which entered into force in 2021

Changes as of November 15th 2024 Figures for 2021-2023 have been adjusted. 2022 is now definitive, 2023 stays revised provisional. Because of new insights for windmills regarding own electricity use and capacity, figures on 2021 have been revised.

Changes as of March 2024: Figures of the total energy applications of biogas, co-digestion of manure and other biogas have been restored for 2021 and 2022. The final energy consumption of non-compliant biogas (according to RED II) was wrongly included in the total final consumption of these types of biogas. Figures of total biogas, total biomass and total renewable energy were not influenced by this and therefore not adjusted.

When will new figures be published? Provisional figures on the gross final consumption of renewable energy in broad outlines for the previous year are published each year in June. Revised provisional figures for the previous year appear each year in June.

In November all figures on the consumption of renewable energy in the previous year will be published. These figures remain revised provisional, definite figures appear in November two years after the reporting year. Most important (expected) changes between revised provisional figures in November and definite figures a year later are the figures on solar photovoltaic energy. The figures on the share of total energy consumption in the Netherlands could also still be changed by the availability of adjusted figures on total energy consumption.

The average for 2023 based on 190 countries was 3.088 quadrillion Btu. The highest value was in China: 161.897 quadrillion Btu and the lowest value was in Montserrat: 0 quadrillion Btu. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

Top Countries by Primary Energy Consumption, 2016 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This horizontal bar chart displays renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) by countries using the aggregation average. The data is about countries.

The average for 2022 based on 42 countries was 3189.07 kilograms of oil equivalent. The highest value was in Iceland: 15856.43 kilograms of oil equivalent and the lowest value was in Albania: 780.74 kilograms of oil equivalent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset is about countries per year in Trinidad and Tobago. It has 64 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and renewable energy consumption.

Global Direct On-Farm Energy Consumption by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Among the European countries, primary energy consumption in 2024 was highest in Germany, at ******exajoules. This was followed by France and Turkey. Primary energy is energy taken directly from natural resources such as crude oil, coal and wind. This means primary energy can be either non-renewable or renewable. Fossil fuel consumption highest In 2024, primary energy supply in the European Union derived mostly from fossil fuels, with oil consumption amounting to around ** exajoules. In comparison, the consumption of coal for primary energy has been in a steady decline, signaling a shift away from this energy source. The consumption of renewables has been increasing annually during this time period and amounted to nearly ****exajoules. Global consumption Primary energy consumption is highest in the Asia Pacific region, with consumption in this region amounting to some *** exajoules in 2024. Globally, China is the largest consumer of primary energy in the world and consumed *** exajoules in 2024.

The average for 2022 based on 141 countries was 93.02 kilograms of oil equivalent. The highest value was in Trinidad and Tobago: 358.47 kilograms of oil equivalent and the lowest value was in Ireland: 20.87 kilograms of oil equivalent. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset is about countries per year in Hungary. It has 64 rows. It features 4 columns: country, access to electricity, and renewable energy consumption.

This dataset is about countries in Europe. It has 44 rows. It features 2 columns including renewable energy consumption.

China was the largest energy consumer worldwide in 2022, and is expected to keep this leading rank until 2050, with a primary energy consumption amounting to 171.5 and 195.4 quadrillion British thermal units, respectively. By comparison, South Korea is expected to consume nearly 14.3 quadrillion British thermal units of energy in 2050.