Norway vs South Africa: Global primary energy use by source
Norway
0.6842 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
0.8523 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Norway rank
58th
South Africa rank
56th
Global primary energy use by source over time
- Norway
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 0.8523 terawatt-hours against 0.6842 terawatt-hours in Norway, a difference of 0.1681 terawatt-hours.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Norway's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was South Africa ahead.
Norway ranks 58th and South Africa ranks 56th of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0.0327 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.0327 terawatt-hours | Norway |
| 1990s | 0.7691 terawatt-hours | 0.1921 terawatt-hours | 0.577 terawatt-hours | Norway |
| 2000s | 0.9639 terawatt-hours | 1.31 terawatt-hours | 0.3445 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.8683 terawatt-hours | 0.9984 terawatt-hours | 0.1301 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 0.7099 terawatt-hours | 0.6031 terawatt-hours | 0.1068 terawatt-hours | Norway |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher global primary energy use by source, Norway or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 0.8523 terawatt-hours against 0.6842 terawatt-hours in Norway as of 2025.
- What is the difference in global primary energy use by source between Norway and South Africa?
- 0.1681 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and South Africa?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Norway and South Africa rank globally for global primary energy use by source?
- Norway ranks 58th and South Africa ranks 56th of 80 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.