China vs Japan: Electricity production by source
China
5,752 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan
330.08 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
Japan rank
4th
Electricity production by source over time
- China
- Japan
How they compare
China currently reports 5,752 terawatt-hours against 330.08 terawatt-hours in Japan, a difference of 5,422 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 17.4 times Japan's.
Across all 41 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 4th of 211 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 335.77 terawatt-hours | 106.9 terawatt-hours | 228.86 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 708.41 terawatt-hours | 161.29 terawatt-hours | 547.12 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 1,927 terawatt-hours | 293.76 terawatt-hours | 1,634 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 4,120 terawatt-hours | 341.75 terawatt-hours | 3,779 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 5,500 terawatt-hours | 337.27 terawatt-hours | 5,163 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity production by source, China or Japan?
- China, at 5,752 terawatt-hours against 330.08 terawatt-hours in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity production by source between China and Japan?
- 5,422 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Japan?
- 41 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2025.
- How do China and Japan rank globally for electricity production by source?
- China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 4th of 211 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity production by source. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.