China vs India: Primary energy use
China
45,054 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
10,861 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Primary energy use over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 45,054 terawatt-hours against 10,861 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 34,193 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 4.1 times India's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 218 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,571 terawatt-hours | 634.72 terawatt-hours | 935.88 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1970s | 3,507 terawatt-hours | 874.43 terawatt-hours | 2,633 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 5,867 terawatt-hours | 1,495 terawatt-hours | 4,371 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 9,593 terawatt-hours | 2,750 terawatt-hours | 6,843 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 18,709 terawatt-hours | 4,415 terawatt-hours | 14,295 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 32,539 terawatt-hours | 7,465 terawatt-hours | 25,074 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 41,591 terawatt-hours | 9,816 terawatt-hours | 31,775 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, China or India?
- China, at 45,054 terawatt-hours against 10,861 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between China and India?
- 34,193 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for primary energy use?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy use. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.