China vs United States: Electricity generation from coal
China
5,752 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
737.15 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
3rd
Electricity generation from coal over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 5,752 terawatt-hours against 737.15 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 5,015 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 7.8 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 41 shared years of data; in 1985 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 207 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 335.77 terawatt-hours | 1,588 terawatt-hours | 1,252 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 708.41 terawatt-hours | 1,873 terawatt-hours | 1,165 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 1,927 terawatt-hours | 1,952 terawatt-hours | 24.29 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 4,120 terawatt-hours | 1,417 terawatt-hours | 2,704 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 5,500 terawatt-hours | 761.22 terawatt-hours | 4,739 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from coal, China or United States?
- China, at 5,752 terawatt-hours against 737.15 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from coal between China and United States?
- 5,015 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 41 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for electricity generation from coal?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 207 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation from coal. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.