China (People’s Republic of) vs United States: Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal

China (People’s Republic of)
2,310
in 2025
United States
853.21
in 2025
China (People’s Republic of) rank
1st
United States rank
2nd

Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • United States
05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k197119982025

How they compare

China (People’s Republic of) currently reports 2,310 against 853.21 in United States, a difference of 1,457.

That makes China (People’s Republic of)'s figure about 2.7 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1983 it was United States ahead.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 212 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, China (People’s Republic of) averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) United States Difference Ahead
1980s 0 0.3519 0.3519 United States
1990s 0.255 3.75 3.49 United States
2000s 5.72 26.22 20.5 United States
2010s 269.02 236.24 32.78 China (People’s Republic of)
2020s 1,419 653.26 766.21 China (People’s Republic of)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal, China (People’s Republic of) or United States?
China (People’s Republic of), at 2,310 against 853.21 in United States as of 2025.
What is the difference in electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal between China (People’s Republic of) and United States?
1,457, with China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and United States?
43 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2025.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and United States rank globally for electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 212 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

China (People’s Republic of) vs United States: Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://energy.statizoid.com/compare/electricity-generation-from-solar-and-wind-compared-to-coal/china/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://energy.statizoid.com/compare/electricity-generation-from-solar-and-wind-compared-to-coal/china/united-states/">China (People’s Republic of) vs United States: Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
214 places, 6,906 data points, 1920–2025
Last refreshed