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.

China consumes by far the most electricity of any country in the world, with more than 8,000 terawatt-hours equivalent consumed in 2023. 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. Large population, high consumption? The world's top three electricity consumers constitute the countries with the largest population. India has the largest population with over 1.4 billion people, while consuming less than one fifth of the electricity of China. Meanwhile, countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria, which boasted the fifth and sixth-largest population size worldwide, did not rank among the top 20 electricity consumers. GDP and electricity consumption Countries with a high GDP per capita like the United States provide their residents greater average purchasing power. Countries with higher-income residents tend to be more urbanized, leading to higher electricity consumption. The U.S. stands among the ten-largest electricity consumers per capita in the world, with Iceland and Norway leading the ranking.

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.

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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 225 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.

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.

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

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

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

This dataset is about countries. It has 4 columns: country, region, continent, and fossil fuel energy consumption. The data is ordered by population (descending).

China Electricity Consumption: per Capita: Average data was reported at 6,257.000 kWh in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,032.000 kWh for 2021. China Electricity Consumption: per Capita: Average data is updated yearly, averaging 1,066.997 kWh from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2022, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,257.000 kWh in 2022 and a record low of 261.265 kWh in 1978. China Electricity Consumption: per Capita: Average data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Utility Sector – Table CN.RCB: Electricity Summary.

Germany Energy Consumption: Other data was reported at 225.722 PJ in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 225.974 PJ for 2019. Germany Energy Consumption: Other data is updated yearly, averaging 170.889 PJ from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2020, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 267.189 PJ in 2011 and a record low of 11.819 PJ in 1999. Germany Energy Consumption: Other data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.RB003: Energy Consumption.

This horizontal bar chart displays renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption) by country using the aggregation average and is filtered where the country is Angola. The data is about countries per year.

This bar chart displays fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) by country and is filtered where the region is Caribbean. The data is about countries.

Jordan JO: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data was reported at 3.229 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.131 % for 2014. Jordan JO: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data is updated yearly, averaging 2.332 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.229 % in 2015 and a record low of 1.688 % in 2005. Jordan JO: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jordan – Table JO.World Bank: Energy Production and Consumption. Renewable energy consumption is the share of renewables energy in total final energy consumption.; ; World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) database from the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework led jointly by the World Bank, International Energy Agency, and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.; Weighted Average;

This bar chart displays fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) by country full name using the aggregation average and is filtered where the country is Ukraine. The data is about countries per year.

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 and figures of 2023 are revised provisional figures.

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.

United States US: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data was reported at 8.717 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.754 % for 2014. United States US: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data is updated yearly, averaging 5.454 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.754 % in 2014 and a record low of 4.089 % in 1994. United States US: Renewable Energy Consumption: % of Total Final Energy Consumption data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Energy Production and Consumption. Renewable energy consumption is the share of renewables energy in total final energy consumption.; ; World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) database from the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework led jointly by the World Bank, International Energy Agency, and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.; Weighted Average;

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.