China vs USSR: Coal production
China
26,296 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
4,014 terawatt-hours
in 1984
China rank
1st
USSR rank
2nd
Coal production over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
China currently reports 26,296 terawatt-hours against 4,014 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 22,282 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 6.6 times USSR's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 84 shared years of data; in 1900 it was USSR ahead.
China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 219 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and USSR in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 25.76 terawatt-hours | 137.37 terawatt-hours | 111.6 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1910s | 55.68 terawatt-hours | 179.2 terawatt-hours | 123.52 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1920s | 95.75 terawatt-hours | 131.62 terawatt-hours | 35.87 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1930s | 155.65 terawatt-hours | 613.73 terawatt-hours | 458.08 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1940s | 211.12 terawatt-hours | 952.38 terawatt-hours | 741.26 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1950s | 739.97 terawatt-hours | 2,153 terawatt-hours | 1,413 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1960s | 1,708 terawatt-hours | 3,242 terawatt-hours | 1,535 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 2,738 terawatt-hours | 3,728 terawatt-hours | 990.66 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 4,058 terawatt-hours | 4,040 terawatt-hours | 18.05 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal production, China or USSR?
- China, at 26,296 terawatt-hours against 4,014 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal production between China and USSR?
- 22,282 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 84 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 1984.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for coal production?
- China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 2nd of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal production. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.