China vs Japan: Annual change in primary energy from nuclear
China
104.18 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan
27.75 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
Japan rank
3rd
Annual change in primary energy from nuclear over time
- China
- Japan
How they compare
China currently reports 104.18 terawatt-hours against 27.75 terawatt-hours in Japan, a difference of 76.43 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.8 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 15 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was Japan ahead.
China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 3rd of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.8008 terawatt-hours | 0.8008 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 21 terawatt-hours | 21 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 34.98 terawatt-hours | 34.98 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1990s | 4.53 terawatt-hours | 39.82 terawatt-hours | 35.29 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2000s | 16.7 terawatt-hours | -12.9 terawatt-hours | 29.6 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 84.44 terawatt-hours | -63.34 terawatt-hours | 147.78 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 68.95 terawatt-hours | 14.36 terawatt-hours | 54.6 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy from nuclear, China or Japan?
- China, at 104.18 terawatt-hours against 27.75 terawatt-hours in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy from nuclear between China and Japan?
- 76.43 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Japan?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and Japan rank globally for annual change in primary energy from nuclear?
- China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 3rd of 218 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 nuclear. 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.