China vs India: Year-to-year change in primary energy use by source
China
334.2 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
31.5 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Year-to-year change in primary energy use by source over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 334.2 terawatt-hours against 31.5 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 302.7 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 10.6 times India's.
The two have swapped places 9 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 79 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1990s | 0.0017 terawatt-hours | 0.0006 terawatt-hours | 0.0011 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 0.0262 terawatt-hours | 0.0069 terawatt-hours | 0.0193 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 22.37 terawatt-hours | 4.76 terawatt-hours | 17.61 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 158.21 terawatt-hours | 20.16 terawatt-hours | 138.05 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher year-to-year change in primary energy use by source, China or India?
- China, at 334.2 terawatt-hours against 31.5 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in year-to-year change in primary energy use by source between China and India?
- 302.7 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for year-to-year change in primary energy use by source?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd 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 Year-to-year change in primary energy use by source. 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.