China vs United States: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
China
4,419 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
9,134 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
4th
United States rank
1st
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 9,134 terawatt-hours against 4,419 terawatt-hours in China, a difference of 4,715 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 2.1 times China's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 220 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.63 terawatt-hours | 4,779 terawatt-hours | 4,765 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 5,594 terawatt-hours | 5,509 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 4,852 terawatt-hours | 4,717 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 180.03 terawatt-hours | 5,751 terawatt-hours | 5,571 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 503.91 terawatt-hours | 6,108 terawatt-hours | 5,604 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,993 terawatt-hours | 7,329 terawatt-hours | 5,336 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 3,956 terawatt-hours | 8,759 terawatt-hours | 4,803 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, China or United States?
- United States, at 9,134 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 United States?
- 4,715 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- China ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st 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) β 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.