Fossil fuels remain the greatest source of electricity generation worldwide. In 2023, coal accounted for roughly 35.5 percent of the global power mix, while natural gas followed with a 23 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 8,000 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.

Coal has been the main source of electricity generation worldwide for the last three decades. In 2023, global coal power generation stood at almost 10,500 terawatt-hours. Overall, coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels accounted for approximately 60 percent of the global electricity production that year. Renewable energy sources of electricity generation The production of renewable energy has been increasing steadily over the past decades, with solar and wind energy showing the largest year-over-year growth between 2022 and 2023. However, the contribution of renewables to the world’s electric power mix remains small when compared to fossil fuel sources. Electricity demand vs production The volume of electricity generated worldwide surpassed the global consumption of electricity by a small margin. This figure is directly affected by the fact that the number of people without access to electricity in the world has shrunk over the past decade and is continuously decreasing.

It is projected that electricity generated worldwide will increase by nearly 50 percent in the coming three decades, to reach some 42 thousand terawatt-hours by 2050. That year, renewables are expected to be the largest source of global electricity, accounting for some 50 percent of electric power produced.

The boom of renewables

Electricity generation from renewable sources is expected to experience the largest growth in the displayed period, almost tripling between 2022 and 2050. The past decade saw the beginning of a boom in global installed renewable capacity, which recently surpassed three terawatts. In 2021, Asia was the region with the largest renewable electricity production, at 3.4 petawatt-hours.

Electricity from fossil fuels

Conventional sources like coal are increasingly being replaced. After peaking at more than 68 percent in 2007, the fossil fuel share in the global power generation has decreased steadily ever since. However, in 2022, coal was still the largest source of electricity generation worldwide, with a share of 34 percent.

Global electricity generation has increased significantly over the past three decades, rising from less than 12,000 terawatt-hours in 1990 to almost 30,000 terawatt-hours in 2023. During this period, electricity generation worldwide only registered an annual decline twice: in 2009, following the global financial crisis, and in 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sources of electricity generation The share of global electricity generated from clean energy sources –including renewables and nuclear power- amounted to almost 40 percent in 2023, up from approximately 32 percent at the beginning of the decade. Despite this growth, fossil fuels are still the main source of electricity generation worldwide. In 2023, almost 60 percent of the electricity was produced by coal and natural gas-fired plants. Regional differences Water, wind, and sun contribute to making Latin America and the Caribbean the region with the largest share of renewable electricity generated in the world. By comparison, several European countries rely on nuclear energy. However, the main electricity sources in the United States and China, the leading economic powers of the world, are respectively natural gas and coal.

In recent years scrutiny over the environmental impact of more traditional energy sources has seen huge growth in renewables. The share of energy from renewable sources used in global energy generation has been rising annually, reaching roughly 30 percent in 2023. Increasing capacity and production As renewable shares continue to grow, so does the installed capacity. Since 2010 the cumulative renewable energy capacity has risen from 1.2 terawatts to 3.9 terawatts in 2023. Renewable electricity production has also increased significantly, rising to 7.9 petawatts hour in 2021. Despite this impressive and steady growth, the consumption of renewable energy still pales in comparison when compared to fossil fuel consumption. Consumption on the rise In the past two decades, global consumption of renewables has risen exponentially from just 2.6 exajoules in 2000, to over 45 exajoules in 2022. Globally, both China and the United States are the leading consumers of renewable energy, with a combined consumption of 21.7 exajoules.

In 2022, electricity generation from renewables worldwide had a combined power capacity of over 3.3 terawatts. However, this was still significantly lower than the capacity of all fossil-based energy sources, which stood at 4.57 terawatts. Coal is still the greatest source for electricity generation worldwide, followed by natural gas. Renewable energy is growing Despite the continued dominance of fossil fuels, the installed capacity of renewables worldwide has more than doubled in the past decade. The cost of renewables' deployment has fallen over time, making them increasingly more cost-effective and common around the world. Combined with the growing pressure to transition towards low-emission sources, renewable technologies are gradually replacing conventional fossil fuels. When will renewables surpass fossil fuels? Renewable energy capacity is forecast to grow by over 350 gigawatts per year in the next decades, while coal use will be reduced. As a consequence, global renewable electricity generation is projected to surpass that of fossil fuels by 2040.

The global electricity generation capacity is expected to almost double in the next three decades, surpassing 15 terawatts by 2050. In 2022, the world's installed electricity capacity stood at 8.5 terawatts.

Oil is the greatest source of primary energy supplied worldwide. In 2019, 30.9 percent of all energy produced in the world was oil-based. In 1973, this share stood at close to 50 percent. In the years since, the shares of natural gas and nuclear energy have seen the most pronounced growth.

Over the past half a century, the world's electricity consumption has continuously grown, reaching approximately 27,000 terawatt-hours by 2023. Between 1980 and 2023, electricity consumption more than tripled, while the global population reached eight billion people. Growth in industrialization and electricity access across the globe have further boosted electricity demand. China's economic rise and growth in global power use Since 2000, China's GDP has recorded an astonishing 15-fold increase, turning it into the second-largest global economy, behind only the United States. To fuel the development of its billion-strong population and various manufacturing industries, China requires more energy than any other country. As a result, it has become the largest electricity consumer in the world. Electricity consumption per capita In terms of per capita electricity consumption, China and other BRIC countries are still vastly outpaced by developed economies with smaller population sizes. Iceland, with a population of less than half a million inhabitants, consumes by far the most electricity per person in the world. Norway, Qatar, Canada, and the United States also have among the highest consumption rates. Multiple contributing factors such as the existence of power-intensive industries, household sizes, living situations, appliance and efficiency standards, and access to alternative heating fuels determine the amount of electricity the average person requires in each country.

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.

In 2023, hydropower generation worldwide stood at 4.2 petawatt hours. This was the largest source of renewable energy worldwide, followed by wind and solar. Wind power generation stood at 2.3 petawatt hours that year.

In 2022, coal was the main source of electricity worldwide, accounting for 10,325 terawatt-hours of electrical energy produced. While this volume is projected to decrease only slightly by 2025, electricity generated by renewables is forecast to grow by almost 30 percent in the period under consideration, becoming the main electricity source in 2025. Electricity production by gas is not forecast to change significantly in this time period, while nuclear electricity is forecast to increase by around 300 terawatt-hours.

As of 2023, China was the largest producer of electricity globally by a significant margin with over 9.4 petawatt-hours generated, followed by the United States with 4.5 petawatt-hours. Both countries generated a considerable amount more than the next highest producer, India, where almost two petawatt-hours were produced. Coal and natural gas remain the primary sources of energy worldwide, maintaining a high global reliance on fossil-based fuels. For instance, natural gas was the largest source of electricity generation in the U.S. in 2023, followed by renewables.

Global expansion of electricity networks Energy networks have been undergoing expansion and modernization to tackle challenges such as the climate crisis and a growing global population through electrification. As a result of this, there has been significant growth in electricity access, with almost 100 million more people gaining access to energy networks worldwide in 2022, of which 44 million were in Central and Southern Asia. With increased electricity access, electricity production increases will become increasingly necessary.

Transitioning towards renewables Use of both coal and renewable electricity has grown worldwide, particularly in the European Union and China, where the largest year-on-year change in coal and renewable generation was recorded in 2022, with renewable electricity growth outpacing coal. As part of its increase in power generation, China has the largest share of clean electricity capacity installed by country worldwide, amounting to approximately 1.27 terawatts.

China is the largest consumer of primary energy in the world, having used some 170.7 exajoules in 2023. 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.

Electricity generation worldwide is forecast to almost triple in the next three decades when compared to 2023. With a growth rate of approximately 20,000 terawatt-hours per decade between 2030 and 2050, this figure will reach 79,000 terawatt-hours by 2050. Electrification and decarbonization The growth in worldwide power generation will largely be driven by decarbonization efforts, including the electrification of the transportation and building sectors. For instance, the global sales of electric vehicles have grown five-fold between 2018 and 2022.In the building sector, efforts to decarbonize heating systems also rely on clean electricity. The share of renewable energy used to power heat pumps worldwide is increasing, although it was below 30 percent in 2022. Global electricity trends Since 1990, global power generation has increased every year except in 2009, following the global financial crisis, and in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing power demand is the result of various factors, including economic development and increasing access to electricity throughout the world.

This statistic displays the projection of electricity generation worldwide in 2040 from various sources, by energy source. The International Energy Outlook under the EIA projected that electricity generation from nuclear power would reach 3.66 petawatt hours in that year based on their reference scenario.

Clean energy sources accounted for over 39 percent of electricity generation worldwide in 2023, up from a 38.57 percent share a year earlier. However, the electricity generated from coal that year was still over 35 percent.

Wind energy sources accounted for nearly eight percent of electricity generation worldwide in 2023, up from a 7.3 percent share a year earlier. This was over double the share compared to 2015 values, the year Paris Agreement was adopted.

Asia and Oceania produced over 4,000 terawatt-hours of emission-free electricity in 2022, with renewables accounting for some 3,900 terawatt-hours. North America was the region producing the most nuclear electricity at the time, at 864 terawatt-hours.

Iceland is by far the largest per capita consumer of electricity worldwide, averaging 53.9 megawatt-hours per person in 2023. 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 2023, 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.