China vs OECD (EI): Annual change in primary energy use
China
947.2 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI)
478.07 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
OECD (EI) rank
1st
Annual change in primary energy use over time
- China
- OECD (EI)
How they compare
China currently reports 947.2 terawatt-hours against 478.07 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI), a difference of 469.13 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 2.0 times OECD (EI)'s.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was OECD (EI) ahead.
China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and OECD (EI) in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | OECD (EI) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 76.68 terawatt-hours | 1,788 terawatt-hours | 1,711 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1970s | 287.71 terawatt-hours | 1,203 terawatt-hours | 914.9 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1980s | 292.79 terawatt-hours | 469.39 terawatt-hours | 176.6 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1990s | 339.9 terawatt-hours | 806.25 terawatt-hours | 466.35 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2000s | 1,502 terawatt-hours | 49.94 terawatt-hours | 1,452 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 1,065 terawatt-hours | 170.02 terawatt-hours | 894.95 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 1,396 terawatt-hours | -383.3 terawatt-hours | 1,779 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy use, China or OECD (EI)?
- China, at 947.2 terawatt-hours against 478.07 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI) as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy use between China and OECD (EI)?
- 469.13 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and OECD (EI)?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and OECD (EI) rank globally for annual change in primary energy use?
- China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual change in primary energy use. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Change in total energy supply relative to the previous year, measured in terawatt-hours.