Iceland vs South Africa: Annual change in primary energy use
Iceland
-4.24 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
-4.34 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Iceland rank
189th
South Africa rank
191st
Annual change in primary energy use over time
- Iceland
- South Africa
How they compare
Iceland currently reports -4.24 terawatt-hours against -4.34 terawatt-hours in South Africa, a difference of 0.1 terawatt-hours.
The two have swapped places 27 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was South Africa ahead.
Iceland ranks 189th and South Africa ranks 191st of 219 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0809 terawatt-hours | 12.28 terawatt-hours | 12.2 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1970s | 0.4289 terawatt-hours | 19.96 terawatt-hours | 19.53 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1980s | 0.4336 terawatt-hours | 38.96 terawatt-hours | 38.53 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1990s | 1.35 terawatt-hours | 19.23 terawatt-hours | 17.88 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2000s | 4.26 terawatt-hours | 20.41 terawatt-hours | 16.16 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 1.49 terawatt-hours | 9.48 terawatt-hours | 7.98 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | -0.6422 terawatt-hours | -14.27 terawatt-hours | 13.63 terawatt-hours | Iceland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy use, Iceland or South Africa?
- Iceland, at -4.24 terawatt-hours against -4.34 terawatt-hours in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy use between Iceland and South Africa?
- 0.1 terawatt-hours, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and South Africa?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and South Africa rank globally for annual change in primary energy use?
- Iceland ranks 189th and South Africa ranks 191st of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) β 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.