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 March 2024, industrial electricity prices in the European countries of Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom were among the highest in the world, at over 0.40 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. Singapore was the Asian country with the highest electricity bill worldwide at that time. Lowest electricity prices in the world The average retail electricity price in the United States was considerably lower than in most of Europe. Iceland was the European country with one of the lowest electricity bills for enterprises that month. At the bottom of the ranking were also Russia, Iraq, Qatar, Argentina, and Libya. In these countries, commercial electricity prices amounted to less than 0.1 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. Household electricity prices In addition, European countries had the highest household electricity prices worldwide that month, with Italy at the top of the ranking. By comparison, Iran and Ethiopia had the lowest residential electricity prices in the world.

This dataset provides values for ELECTRICITY PRICE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY PRICES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Electricity prices in Europe are expected to remain volatile through 2025, with Italy projected to have some of the highest rates among major European economies. This trend reflects the ongoing challenges in the energy sector, including the transition to renewable sources and the impact of geopolitical events on supply chains. Despite efforts to stabilize the market, prices in countries like Italy are forecasted to reach ****** euros per megawatt hour by February 2025, indicating persistent pressure on consumers and businesses alike. Natural gas futures shaping electricity costs The electricity market's future trajectory is closely tied to natural gas prices, a key component in power generation. Dutch TTF gas futures, a benchmark for European natural gas prices, are projected to be ***** euros per megawatt hour in April 2025. This represents an increase of about ** euros compared to the previous year, suggesting that gas prices will continue to influence electricity rates across Europe. The reduced output from the Groningen gas field and increased reliance on imports further complicate the pricing landscape, potentially contributing to higher electricity costs in countries like Italy. Regional disparities and global market influences While European electricity prices remain high, significant regional differences persist. For instance, natural gas prices in the United States are expected to be roughly one-third of those in Europe by March 2025, at **** U.S. dollars per million British thermal units. This stark contrast highlights the impact of domestic production capabilities on global natural gas prices. Europe's greater reliance on imports, particularly in the aftermath of geopolitical tensions and the shift away from Russian gas, continues to keep prices elevated compared to more self-sufficient markets. As a result, countries like Italy may face sustained pressure on electricity prices due to their position within the broader European energy market.

Comparison of average electricity prices for residential and industrial use in various countries

This dataset provides values for ELECTRICITY PRICE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Graph and download economic data for Global price of Energy index (PNRGINDEXM) from Jan 1992 to May 2025 about energy, World, indexes, and price.

Germany, Belgium, and Ireland had some of the highest household electricity prices worldwide, as of June 2024. At the time, German households were charged around 0.39 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, while in Belgium, the price stood at 0.37 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, in Qatar, residents paid more than 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. The top importers of natural gas in Europe in 2023 were Germany and Italy, where this energy source constitutes a relevant share of the power mix.

Global electricity prices for households averaged some ** U.S. cents per kilowatt hour as of 2016. Europe and North America had the highest average prices, while households in sub-Saharan Africa paid the least for electricity. Germany has one of the highest electricity prices in the world at about ** U.S. cents per kilowatt hour; in comparison, the price of electricity in the United States averaged 13 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour. As Germany transitions from fossil fuels to renewable sources through the country’s Renewable Electricity Energy Sources Act (EEG or Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz), electricity prices have increased via taxes and levies on commercial and residential consumers. Prices are very different across the world and can also vary within municipalities in many countries.

Determining electricity rates Electricity prices (also called electricity tariffs) depend on a variety of factors such as price of primary power generation sources, government taxes, and grid infrastructure. A large portion of electricity prices are based on wholesale electricity costs. Tariffs will also differ based on customer groups, usually categorized by residential, commercial, and industrial customers. For example, prices for industrial customers tend to be very close to the wholesale price of electricity as they tend to consume more power at higher voltages which is more efficient, and thus, cheaper. Customers tend to be differentiated by load size and usage profiles – how much the customer contributes to the peak load is also important in determining rate class.

Table comparing electricity prices per kWh and their annual changes in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, highlighting the variations across European countries. Source: Eurostat.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY PRICES. reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Sixth report of the Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) on electricity bills (electricity tariff) comparisons for the Pacfic Island Countries and Territories.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide a comparison of electricity prices paid by customers in Vanuatu with customers in different small Pacific island countries across region.

The Data used is based on information sourced directly from utilities, regulatory agencies and /or publicly available information on electricity rates for different utilities on respective websites and includes all applicable taxes and fees.

This map shows electricity access in Asia and the Pacific. The data source is from the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook. The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook first constructed a database on electrification rates for WEO-2002. The database once again was updated for WEO-2015, showing detailed data on national, urban and rural electrification.

The general paucity of data on electricity access means that it must be gathered through a combination of sources, including: IEA energy statistics; a network of contacts spanning governments, multilateral development banks and country-level representatives of various international organisations; and, other publicly available statistics, such as US Agency for International Development (USAID) supported DHS survey data, the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) statistical publications, and data from national statistics agencies. In the small number of cases where no data could be provided through these channels other sources were used. If electricity access data for 2013 was not available, data for the latest available year was used.

For many countries, data on the urban and rural breakdown was collected, but if not available an estimate was made on the basis of pre-existing data or a comparison to the average correlation between urban and national electrification rates. Often only the percentage of households with a connection is known and assumptions about an average household size are used to determine access rates as a percentage of the population. To estimate the number of people without access, population data comes from OECD statistics in conjunction with the United Nations Population Division reports World Urbanization Prospects: the 2014 Revision Population Database, and World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision. Electricity access data is adjusted to be consistent with demographic patterns of urban and rural population. Due to differences in definitions and methodology from different sources, data quality may vary from country to country. Where country data appeared contradictory, outdated or unreliable, the IEA Secretariat made estimates based on cross-country comparisons and earlier surveys.

France Electricity decreased 4.49 EUR/MWh or 6.43% since the beginning of 2025, according to the latest spot benchmarks offered by sellers to buyers priced in megawatt hour (MWh). This dataset includes a chart with historical data for France Electricity Price.

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Electricity in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East Africa).