China vs United States: Year-to-year change in primary energy use by source
China
334.2 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
85.93 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Year-to-year change in primary energy use by source over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 334.2 terawatt-hours against 85.93 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 248.27 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.9 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | 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 | 0.0253 terawatt-hours | 0.0253 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 0.0017 terawatt-hours | 0.0265 terawatt-hours | 0.0248 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 0.0262 terawatt-hours | 0.1558 terawatt-hours | 0.1296 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 22.37 terawatt-hours | 10.59 terawatt-hours | 11.78 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 158.21 terawatt-hours | 47.46 terawatt-hours | 110.74 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 United States?
- China, at 334.2 terawatt-hours against 85.93 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in year-to-year change in primary energy use by source between China and United States?
- 248.27 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for year-to-year change in primary energy use by source?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 80 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – 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.