South Africa vs Sri Lanka: Global primary energy use by source
South Africa
0.8523 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Sri Lanka
0.6609 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa rank
56th
Sri Lanka rank
59th
Global primary energy use by source over time
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 0.8523 terawatt-hours against 0.6609 terawatt-hours in Sri Lanka, a difference of 0.1914 terawatt-hours.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.3 times Sri Lanka's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
South Africa ranks 56th and Sri Lanka ranks 59th of 80 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1990s | 0.1921 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.1921 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1.31 terawatt-hours | 0.0103 terawatt-hours | 1.3 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.9984 terawatt-hours | 0.1682 terawatt-hours | 0.8302 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 0.6031 terawatt-hours | 0.5225 terawatt-hours | 0.0806 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher global primary energy use by source, South Africa or Sri Lanka?
- South Africa, at 0.8523 terawatt-hours against 0.6609 terawatt-hours in Sri Lanka as of 2025.
- What is the difference in global primary energy use by source between South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 0.1914 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sri Lanka?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Sri Lanka rank globally for global primary energy use by source?
- South Africa ranks 56th and Sri Lanka ranks 59th 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.