Canada vs China: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
Canada
1,323 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
4,419 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Canada rank
7th
China rank
4th
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- Canada
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 4,419 terawatt-hours against 1,323 terawatt-hours in Canada, a difference of 3,096 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.3 times Canada's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 7th and China ranks 4th of 220 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 5 and China in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 259.97 terawatt-hours | 14.63 terawatt-hours | 245.33 terawatt-hours | Canada |
| 1970s | 443.04 terawatt-hours | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 358.11 terawatt-hours | Canada |
| 1980s | 545.3 terawatt-hours | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 410.78 terawatt-hours | Canada |
| 1990s | 741.84 terawatt-hours | 180.03 terawatt-hours | 561.81 terawatt-hours | Canada |
| 2000s | 888.93 terawatt-hours | 503.91 terawatt-hours | 385.02 terawatt-hours | Canada |
| 2010s | 1,074 terawatt-hours | 1,993 terawatt-hours | 918.72 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 1,243 terawatt-hours | 3,956 terawatt-hours | 2,713 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, Canada or China?
- China, at 4,419 terawatt-hours against 1,323 terawatt-hours in Canada as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption by fuel between Canada and China?
- 3,096 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and China?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Canada and China rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- Canada ranks 7th and China ranks 4th of 220 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fossil fuel consumption by fuel. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.