China vs United States: Electricity generation from renewables
China
3,920 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
1,159 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Electricity generation from renewables over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 3,920 terawatt-hours against 1,159 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 2,761 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.4 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 43 shared years of data; in 1983 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 209 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 98.25 terawatt-hours | 326.54 terawatt-hours | 228.29 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 168.7 terawatt-hours | 370.26 terawatt-hours | 201.56 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 412.37 terawatt-hours | 353.64 terawatt-hours | 58.73 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 1,339 terawatt-hours | 587.63 terawatt-hours | 751.82 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 2,920 terawatt-hours | 970.22 terawatt-hours | 1,949 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from renewables, China or United States?
- China, at 3,920 terawatt-hours against 1,159 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from renewables between China and United States?
- 2,761 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for electricity generation from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 209 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 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.