China vs India: Coal consumption by region
China
25,622 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
6,409 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
2nd
Coal consumption by region over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 25,622 terawatt-hours against 6,409 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 19,213 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 4.0 times India's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 78 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,358 terawatt-hours | 427.95 terawatt-hours | 930.46 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1970s | 2,632 terawatt-hours | 530.11 terawatt-hours | 2,102 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 4,599 terawatt-hours | 878.87 terawatt-hours | 3,720 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 7,385 terawatt-hours | 1,577 terawatt-hours | 5,807 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 13,982 terawatt-hours | 2,429 terawatt-hours | 11,553 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 22,159 terawatt-hours | 4,281 terawatt-hours | 17,878 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 24,642 terawatt-hours | 5,760 terawatt-hours | 18,881 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal consumption by region, China or India?
- China, at 25,622 terawatt-hours against 6,409 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal consumption by region between China and India?
- 19,213 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for coal consumption by region?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 78 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal consumption by region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual coal consumption is measured in terawatt-hours.