United States of America vs USSR: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel
United States of America
9,134 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
5,043 terawatt-hours
in 1984
United States of America rank
1st
USSR rank
2nd
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel over time
- United States of America
- USSR
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 9,134 terawatt-hours against 5,043 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 4,091 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.8 times USSR's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 20 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States of America ahead.
United States of America ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 220 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States of America | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4,779 terawatt-hours | 1,481 terawatt-hours | 3,298 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1970s | 5,594 terawatt-hours | 2,712 terawatt-hours | 2,882 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1980s | 4,956 terawatt-hours | 4,348 terawatt-hours | 608.44 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption by fuel, United States of America or USSR?
- United States of America, at 9,134 terawatt-hours against 5,043 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption by fuel between United States of America and USSR?
- 4,091 terawatt-hours, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States of America and USSR?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
- How do United States of America and USSR rank globally for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- United States of America ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd 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.