China vs India: Electricity generation
China
10,583 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
2,082 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Electricity generation over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 10,583 terawatt-hours against 2,082 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 8,501 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 5.1 times India's.
Across all 41 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 497.5 terawatt-hours | 225.3 terawatt-hours | 272.2 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 942.23 terawatt-hours | 408.75 terawatt-hours | 533.48 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 2,446 terawatt-hours | 705.58 terawatt-hours | 1,741 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 5,836 terawatt-hours | 1,280 terawatt-hours | 4,556 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 9,215 terawatt-hours | 1,847 terawatt-hours | 7,368 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation, China or India?
- China, at 10,583 terawatt-hours against 2,082 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation between China and India?
- 8,501 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 41 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for electricity generation?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total electricity generated in each country or region, measured in terawatt-hours.