China vs United States: Coal consumption
China
25,622 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
2,425 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
4th
Coal consumption over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 25,622 terawatt-hours against 2,425 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 23,197 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 10.6 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 220 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,358 terawatt-hours | 3,360 terawatt-hours | 2,002 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 2,632 terawatt-hours | 3,635 terawatt-hours | 1,003 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 4,599 terawatt-hours | 4,741 terawatt-hours | 141.97 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 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?
- China, at 25,622 terawatt-hours against 2,425 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal consumption between China and United States?
- 23,197 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for coal consumption?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 220 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – 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.