Germany vs Japan: Global primary energy use by source
Germany
147.01 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan
167.68 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Germany rank
6th
Japan rank
5th
Global primary energy use by source over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 167.68 terawatt-hours against 147.01 terawatt-hours in Germany, a difference of 20.67 terawatt-hours.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Japan ahead.
Germany ranks 6th and Japan ranks 5th of 77 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 2 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1970s | 3.48 terawatt-hours | 4.5 terawatt-hours | 1.02 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1980s | 5.1 terawatt-hours | 42.48 terawatt-hours | 37.38 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1990s | 6.13 terawatt-hours | 61.16 terawatt-hours | 55.03 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2000s | 46.85 terawatt-hours | 80.58 terawatt-hours | 33.73 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2010s | 146.03 terawatt-hours | 91.07 terawatt-hours | 54.95 terawatt-hours | Germany |
| 2020s | 156.18 terawatt-hours | 141.82 terawatt-hours | 14.36 terawatt-hours | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher global primary energy use by source, Germany or Japan?
- Japan, at 167.68 terawatt-hours against 147.01 terawatt-hours in Germany as of 2025.
- What is the difference in global primary energy use by source between Germany and Japan?
- 20.67 terawatt-hours, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for global primary energy use by source?
- Germany ranks 6th and Japan ranks 5th of 77 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Global primary energy use by source. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.