China vs USSR: Primary energy use
China
45,054 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
17,692 terawatt-hours
in 1991
China rank
1st
USSR rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
China currently reports 45,054 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 27,362 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 2.5 times USSR's.
Across all 27 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,571 terawatt-hours | 7,495 terawatt-hours | 5,925 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 3,507 terawatt-hours | 10,740 terawatt-hours | 7,232 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 5,867 terawatt-hours | 15,673 terawatt-hours | 9,806 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1990s | 7,892 terawatt-hours | 17,833 terawatt-hours | 9,940 terawatt-hours | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, China or USSR?
- China, at 45,054 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between China and USSR?
- 27,362 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1991.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for primary energy use?
- China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd 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.