Iran vs Saudi Arabia: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
Iran
2,563 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Saudi Arabia
1,338 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Iran rank
5th
Saudi Arabia rank
6th
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Iran currently reports 2,563 terawatt-hours against 1,338 terawatt-hours in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1,225 terawatt-hours.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.9 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Iran ahead.
Iran ranks 5th and Saudi Arabia ranks 6th of 220 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 4 and Saudi Arabia in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.91 terawatt-hours | 8.99 terawatt-hours | 0.0886 terawatt-hours | Saudi Arabia |
| 1970s | 40.03 terawatt-hours | 29.42 terawatt-hours | 10.61 terawatt-hours | Iran |
| 1980s | 91.27 terawatt-hours | 183.08 terawatt-hours | 91.8 terawatt-hours | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 332.77 terawatt-hours | 394.68 terawatt-hours | 61.91 terawatt-hours | Saudi Arabia |
| 2000s | 959.69 terawatt-hours | 630.75 terawatt-hours | 328.94 terawatt-hours | Iran |
| 2010s | 1,794 terawatt-hours | 994.62 terawatt-hours | 799.12 terawatt-hours | Iran |
| 2020s | 2,437 terawatt-hours | 1,198 terawatt-hours | 1,239 terawatt-hours | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
- Iran, at 2,563 terawatt-hours against 1,338 terawatt-hours in Saudi Arabia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption by fuel between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 1,225 terawatt-hours, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Iran and Saudi Arabia rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- Iran ranks 5th and Saudi Arabia ranks 6th 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.