China vs India: Oil consumption
China
9,401 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
3,026 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
2nd
India rank
3rd
Oil consumption over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 9,401 terawatt-hours against 3,026 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 6,375 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.1 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was India ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 6 and India in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 175.53 terawatt-hours | 179.64 terawatt-hours | 4.11 terawatt-hours | India |
| 1970s | 751.66 terawatt-hours | 287.94 terawatt-hours | 463.73 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 1,045 terawatt-hours | 503.45 terawatt-hours | 541.07 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 1,830 terawatt-hours | 895.16 terawatt-hours | 934.75 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 3,648 terawatt-hours | 1,480 terawatt-hours | 2,167 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 6,422 terawatt-hours | 2,292 terawatt-hours | 4,130 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 8,662 terawatt-hours | 2,820 terawatt-hours | 5,842 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher oil consumption, China or India?
- China, at 9,401 terawatt-hours against 3,026 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in oil consumption between China and India?
- 6,375 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for oil consumption?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Oil consumption. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Includes refined petroleum products and other liquid fuels.