China vs OECD (EI): Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
China
4,419 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI)
18,113 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
3rd
OECD (EI) rank
1st
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- China
- OECD (EI)
How they compare
OECD (EI) currently reports 18,113 terawatt-hours against 4,419 terawatt-hours in China, a difference of 13,694 terawatt-hours.
That makes OECD (EI)'s figure about 4.1 times China's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, OECD (EI) has been ahead every year.
China ranks 3rd and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 219 countries.
OECD (EI) has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | OECD (EI) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.63 terawatt-hours | 5,555 terawatt-hours | 5,540 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1970s | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 8,123 terawatt-hours | 8,038 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1980s | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 8,839 terawatt-hours | 8,704 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1990s | 180.03 terawatt-hours | 11,518 terawatt-hours | 11,338 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2000s | 503.91 terawatt-hours | 14,138 terawatt-hours | 13,634 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2010s | 1,993 terawatt-hours | 16,444 terawatt-hours | 14,452 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2020s | 3,956 terawatt-hours | 17,891 terawatt-hours | 13,936 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, China or OECD (EI)?
- OECD (EI), at 18,113 terawatt-hours against 4,419 terawatt-hours in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption by fuel between China and OECD (EI)?
- 13,694 terawatt-hours, with OECD (EI) ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and OECD (EI)?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and OECD (EI) rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- China ranks 3rd and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 219 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.