China vs United States of America: Fossil fuel supply by source
China
4,419 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States of America
9,134 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
4th
United States of America rank
1st
Fossil fuel supply by source over time
- China
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 9,134 terawatt-hours against 4,419 terawatt-hours in China, a difference of 4,715 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States of America's figure about 2.1 times China's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
China ranks 4th and United States of America ranks 1st of 77 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 14.63 terawatt-hours | 4,779 terawatt-hours | 4,765 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1970s | 84.93 terawatt-hours | 5,594 terawatt-hours | 5,509 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1980s | 134.52 terawatt-hours | 4,852 terawatt-hours | 4,717 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1990s | 180.03 terawatt-hours | 5,751 terawatt-hours | 5,571 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 2000s | 503.91 terawatt-hours | 6,108 terawatt-hours | 5,604 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 2010s | 1,993 terawatt-hours | 7,329 terawatt-hours | 5,336 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 2020s | 3,956 terawatt-hours | 8,759 terawatt-hours | 4,803 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel supply by source, China or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 9,134 terawatt-hours against 4,419 terawatt-hours in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel supply by source between China and United States of America?
- 4,715 terawatt-hours, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States of America rank globally for fossil fuel supply by source?
- China ranks 4th and United States of America ranks 1st of 77 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fossil fuel supply 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.