Iran vs USSR: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
Iran
2,563 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
5,043 terawatt-hours
in 1984
Iran rank
4th
USSR rank
3rd
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- Iran
- USSR
How they compare
USSR currently reports 5,043 terawatt-hours against 2,563 terawatt-hours in Iran, a difference of 2,480 terawatt-hours.
That makes USSR's figure about 2.0 times Iran's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
Iran ranks 4th and USSR ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.91 terawatt-hours | 1,481 terawatt-hours | 1,472 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 40.03 terawatt-hours | 2,712 terawatt-hours | 2,672 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 65.81 terawatt-hours | 4,348 terawatt-hours | 4,282 terawatt-hours | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, Iran or USSR?
- USSR, at 5,043 terawatt-hours against 2,563 terawatt-hours in Iran as of 1984.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption by fuel between Iran and USSR?
- 2,480 terawatt-hours, with USSR ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and USSR?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
- How do Iran and USSR rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- Iran ranks 4th and USSR ranks 3rd 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.