China vs USSR: Annual change in primary energy from renewables
China
528.4 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
22.63 terawatt-hours
in 1984
China rank
1st
USSR rank
2nd
Annual change in primary energy from renewables over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
China currently reports 528.4 terawatt-hours against 22.63 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 505.77 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 23.4 times USSR's.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 19 shared years of data; in 1966 it was USSR ahead.
China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 77 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and USSR in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2906 terawatt-hours | 8.44 terawatt-hours | 8.15 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 2.53 terawatt-hours | 5.68 terawatt-hours | 3.15 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 7.65 terawatt-hours | 6.19 terawatt-hours | 1.46 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 USSR?
- China, at 528.4 terawatt-hours against 22.63 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual change in primary energy from renewables between China and USSR?
- 505.77 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 19 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 1984.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for annual change in primary energy from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 77 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 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.