China vs United States: Annual change in primary energy from renewables
China
528.4 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
45.49 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
3rd
Annual change in primary energy from renewables over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 528.4 terawatt-hours against 45.49 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 482.91 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 11.6 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 25 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2906 terawatt-hours | 17.25 terawatt-hours | 16.96 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 2.53 terawatt-hours | 8.27 terawatt-hours | 5.74 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 6.99 terawatt-hours | 13.97 terawatt-hours | 6.99 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 8.71 terawatt-hours | 13.2 terawatt-hours | 4.49 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 52.22 terawatt-hours | 27.4 terawatt-hours | 24.82 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 144.62 terawatt-hours | 51.63 terawatt-hours | 92.99 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 327.82 terawatt-hours | 71.42 terawatt-hours | 256.4 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual change in primary energy from renewables, China or United States?
- China, at 528.4 terawatt-hours against 45.49 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy from renewables between China and United States?
- 482.91 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 annual change in primary energy from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 80 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual change in primary energy from renewables. 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.