South Africa vs Vietnam: Primary energy use
South Africa
1,398 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Vietnam
1,305 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa rank
22nd
Vietnam rank
25th
Primary energy use over time
- South Africa
- Vietnam
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 1,398 terawatt-hours against 1,305 terawatt-hours in Vietnam, a difference of 93 terawatt-hours.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Vietnam's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
South Africa ranks 22nd and Vietnam ranks 25th of 219 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Vietnam | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 375.31 terawatt-hours | 61.61 terawatt-hours | 313.7 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1970s | 526.04 terawatt-hours | 62.38 terawatt-hours | 463.66 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1980s | 873.25 terawatt-hours | 60.5 terawatt-hours | 812.75 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1990s | 1,092 terawatt-hours | 107.3 terawatt-hours | 985.05 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1,304 terawatt-hours | 299.14 terawatt-hours | 1,004 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 1,423 terawatt-hours | 686.11 terawatt-hours | 736.93 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 1,353 terawatt-hours | 1,141 terawatt-hours | 211.58 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, South Africa or Vietnam?
- South Africa, at 1,398 terawatt-hours against 1,305 terawatt-hours in Vietnam as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between South Africa and Vietnam?
- 93 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Vietnam?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Vietnam rank globally for primary energy use?
- South Africa ranks 22nd and Vietnam ranks 25th of 219 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.