Japan vs United States: Coal consumption
Japan
1,211 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
2,425 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan rank
6th
United States rank
4th
Coal consumption over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 2,425 terawatt-hours against 1,211 terawatt-hours in Japan, a difference of 1,214 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 2.0 times Japan's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 6th and United States ranks 4th of 220 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 648.99 terawatt-hours | 3,360 terawatt-hours | 2,711 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 634.35 terawatt-hours | 3,635 terawatt-hours | 3,000 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 785.78 terawatt-hours | 4,741 terawatt-hours | 3,955 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 958.06 terawatt-hours | 5,648 terawatt-hours | 4,690 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 1,260 terawatt-hours | 6,160 terawatt-hours | 4,900 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,374 terawatt-hours | 4,513 terawatt-hours | 3,138 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 1,289 terawatt-hours | 2,525 terawatt-hours | 1,236 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal consumption, Japan or United States?
- United States, at 2,425 terawatt-hours against 1,211 terawatt-hours in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal consumption between Japan and United States?
- 1,214 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for coal consumption?
- Japan ranks 6th 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.