China vs Iran, Islamic Rep.: Annual change in primary energy from coal
China
0.459 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Iran, Islamic Rep.
0.3772 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
20th
Iran, Islamic Rep. rank
22nd
Annual change in primary energy from coal over time
- China
- Iran, Islamic Rep.
How they compare
China currently reports 0.459 terawatt-hours against 0.3772 terawatt-hours in Iran, Islamic Rep., a difference of 0.0818 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.2 times Iran, Islamic Rep.'s.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was China ahead.
China ranks 20th and Iran, Islamic Rep. ranks 22nd of 78 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Iran, Islamic Rep. | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 46.48 terawatt-hours | 0.2908 terawatt-hours | 46.19 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1970s | 188.61 terawatt-hours | 0.9593 terawatt-hours | 187.65 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 264.42 terawatt-hours | -0.4951 terawatt-hours | 264.91 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 205.21 terawatt-hours | 0.6006 terawatt-hours | 204.61 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 1,151 terawatt-hours | -0.501 terawatt-hours | 1,151 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 309.67 terawatt-hours | 0.9678 terawatt-hours | 308.7 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 486.69 terawatt-hours | -0.0176 terawatt-hours | 486.71 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy from coal, China or Iran, Islamic Rep.?
- China, at 0.459 terawatt-hours against 0.3772 terawatt-hours in Iran, Islamic Rep. as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy from coal between China and Iran, Islamic Rep.?
- 0.0818 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Iran, Islamic Rep.?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and Iran, Islamic Rep. rank globally for annual change in primary energy from coal?
- China ranks 20th and Iran, Islamic Rep. ranks 22nd of 78 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.