India vs USSR: Primary energy use
India
10,861 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
17,692 terawatt-hours
in 1991
India rank
3rd
USSR rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- India
- USSR
How they compare
USSR currently reports 17,692 terawatt-hours against 10,861 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 6,831 terawatt-hours.
That makes USSR's figure about 1.6 times India's.
Across all 27 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
India ranks 3rd 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 | India | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 634.72 terawatt-hours | 7,495 terawatt-hours | 6,861 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 874.43 terawatt-hours | 10,740 terawatt-hours | 9,865 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 1,495 terawatt-hours | 15,673 terawatt-hours | 14,177 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1990s | 2,228 terawatt-hours | 17,833 terawatt-hours | 15,605 terawatt-hours | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, India or USSR?
- USSR, at 17,692 terawatt-hours against 10,861 terawatt-hours in India as of 1991.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between India and USSR?
- 6,831 terawatt-hours, with USSR ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and USSR?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1991.
- How do India and USSR rank globally for primary energy use?
- India ranks 3rd 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.