China vs United States: Fossil fuel production by fuel
China
2,641 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
10,737 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
5th
United States rank
1st
Fossil fuel production by fuel over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 10,737 terawatt-hours against 2,641 terawatt-hours in China, a difference of 8,096 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 4.1 times China's.
Across all 126 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 5th and United States ranks 1st of 220 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 terawatt-hours | 109.78 terawatt-hours | 109.78 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1910s | 0 terawatt-hours | 191.01 terawatt-hours | 191.01 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1920s | 0 terawatt-hours | 370.08 terawatt-hours | 370.08 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1930s | 0 terawatt-hours | 675.33 terawatt-hours | 675.33 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1940s | 0 terawatt-hours | 1,228 terawatt-hours | 1,228 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1950s | 1.84 terawatt-hours | 2,827 terawatt-hours | 2,825 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1960s | 10.04 terawatt-hours | 4,951 terawatt-hours | 4,941 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 5,481 terawatt-hours | 5,396 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 4,712 terawatt-hours | 4,577 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 191.64 terawatt-hours | 5,002 terawatt-hours | 4,810 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 513.35 terawatt-hours | 5,199 terawatt-hours | 4,686 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,328 terawatt-hours | 7,186 terawatt-hours | 5,858 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 2,286 terawatt-hours | 9,991 terawatt-hours | 7,704 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel production by fuel, China or United States?
- United States, at 10,737 terawatt-hours against 2,641 terawatt-hours in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel production by fuel between China and United States?
- 8,096 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for fossil fuel production by fuel?
- China ranks 5th and United States ranks 1st of 220 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.