China vs India: Electricity generation from renewables
China
3,920 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
500.98 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
4th
Electricity generation from renewables over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 3,920 terawatt-hours against 500.98 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 3,419 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 7.8 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1971 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 5 and India in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 40.69 terawatt-hours | 41.14 terawatt-hours | 0.4483 terawatt-hours | India |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 53.74 terawatt-hours | 34.85 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 168.7 terawatt-hours | 75.4 terawatt-hours | 93.3 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 412.37 terawatt-hours | 106.2 terawatt-hours | 306.17 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 1,339 terawatt-hours | 201.39 terawatt-hours | 1,138 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 2,920 terawatt-hours | 375.22 terawatt-hours | 2,544 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from renewables, China or India?
- China, at 3,920 terawatt-hours against 500.98 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from renewables between China and India?
- 3,419 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for electricity generation from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026) and other sources β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation from renewables. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.