Australia vs South Africa: Annual change in primary energy from coal
Australia
-15.12 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
-19.99 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Australia rank
71st
South Africa rank
72nd
Annual change in primary energy from coal over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports -15.12 terawatt-hours against -19.99 terawatt-hours in South Africa, a difference of 4.87 terawatt-hours.
The two have swapped places 32 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 71st and South Africa ranks 72nd of 79 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.81 terawatt-hours | 5.29 terawatt-hours | 1.52 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 1970s | 8.63 terawatt-hours | 15.18 terawatt-hours | 6.56 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1980s | 11.84 terawatt-hours | 29.61 terawatt-hours | 17.77 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1990s | 15.35 terawatt-hours | 11.68 terawatt-hours | 3.67 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2000s | 6.74 terawatt-hours | 15.24 terawatt-hours | 8.5 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | -16.84 terawatt-hours | 3.63 terawatt-hours | 20.47 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | -13.51 terawatt-hours | -8.13 terawatt-hours | 5.38 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy from coal, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at -15.12 terawatt-hours against -19.99 terawatt-hours in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy from coal between Australia and South Africa?
- 4.87 terawatt-hours, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for annual change in primary energy from coal?
- Australia ranks 71st and South Africa ranks 72nd of 79 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual change in primary energy from coal. 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.