Korea vs United States: Primary energy use per person
Korea
69,745 kilowatt-hours per person
in 2025
United States
75,051 kilowatt-hours per person
in 2025
Korea rank
16th
United States rank
15th
Primary energy use per person over time
- Korea
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 75,051 kilowatt-hours per person against 69,745 kilowatt-hours per person in Korea, a difference of 5,306 kilowatt-hours per person.
That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times Korea's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Korea ranks 16th and United States ranks 15th of 214 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Korea | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3,412 kilowatt-hours per person | 77,312 kilowatt-hours per person | 73,900 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 1970s | 7,564 kilowatt-hours per person | 89,416 kilowatt-hours per person | 81,853 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 1980s | 15,495 kilowatt-hours per person | 83,839 kilowatt-hours per person | 68,344 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 1990s | 37,168 kilowatt-hours per person | 89,283 kilowatt-hours per person | 52,115 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 2000s | 54,673 kilowatt-hours per person | 89,111 kilowatt-hours per person | 34,438 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 2010s | 66,887 kilowatt-hours per person | 78,653 kilowatt-hours per person | 11,765 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
| 2020s | 69,233 kilowatt-hours per person | 73,741 kilowatt-hours per person | 4,508 kilowatt-hours per person | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use per person, Korea or United States?
- United States, at 75,051 kilowatt-hours per person against 69,745 kilowatt-hours per person in Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use per person between Korea and United States?
- 5,306 kilowatt-hours per person, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Korea and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Korea and United States rank globally for primary energy use per person?
- Korea ranks 16th and United States ranks 15th of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy use per person. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in kilowatt-hours of total energy supply per person.