China vs United States of America: Coal consumption
China
25,622 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States of America
2,425 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States of America rank
4th
Coal consumption over time
- China
- United States of America
How they compare
China currently reports 25,622 terawatt-hours against 2,425 terawatt-hours in United States of America, a difference of 23,197 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 10.6 times United States of America's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States of America ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 4th of 220 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and United States of America in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,358 terawatt-hours | 3,360 terawatt-hours | 2,002 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1970s | 2,632 terawatt-hours | 3,635 terawatt-hours | 1,003 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1980s | 4,599 terawatt-hours | 4,741 terawatt-hours | 141.97 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1990s | 7,385 terawatt-hours | 5,648 terawatt-hours | 1,737 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 13,982 terawatt-hours | 6,160 terawatt-hours | 7,822 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 22,159 terawatt-hours | 4,513 terawatt-hours | 17,646 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 24,642 terawatt-hours | 2,525 terawatt-hours | 22,117 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal consumption, China or United States of America?
- China, at 25,622 terawatt-hours against 2,425 terawatt-hours in United States of America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal consumption between China and United States of America?
- 23,197 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States of America rank globally for coal consumption?
- China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 4th of 220 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal consumption. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.