Australia vs China: Fossil fuel production by fuel
Australia
1,486 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
2,641 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Australia rank
8th
China rank
5th
Fossil fuel production by fuel over time
- Australia
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 2,641 terawatt-hours against 1,486 terawatt-hours in Australia, a difference of 1,155 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.8 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was China ahead.
Australia ranks 8th and China ranks 5th of 216 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and China in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1910s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1920s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1930s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1940s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1950s | 0 terawatt-hours | 1.84 terawatt-hours | 1.84 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1960s | 0.3346 terawatt-hours | 10.04 terawatt-hours | 9.71 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1970s | 56.46 terawatt-hours | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 28.47 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 135.97 terawatt-hours | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 1.45 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 1990s | 267.75 terawatt-hours | 191.64 terawatt-hours | 76.11 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2000s | 376.56 terawatt-hours | 513.35 terawatt-hours | 136.79 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 843.39 terawatt-hours | 1,328 terawatt-hours | 484.76 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 1,499 terawatt-hours | 2,286 terawatt-hours | 787.3 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel production by fuel, Australia or China?
- China, at 2,641 terawatt-hours against 1,486 terawatt-hours in Australia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel production by fuel between Australia and China?
- 1,155 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and China?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Australia and China rank globally for fossil fuel production by fuel?
- Australia ranks 8th and China ranks 5th of 216 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fossil fuel production 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. Excludes gas flared or recycled. Includes natural gas produced for Gas-to-Liquids transformation.