Australia vs South Africa: Primary energy use
Australia
1,536 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
1,398 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Australia rank
19th
South Africa rank
22nd
Primary energy use over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 1,536 terawatt-hours against 1,398 terawatt-hours in South Africa, a difference of 138 terawatt-hours.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 19th and South Africa ranks 22nd of 215 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 458.4 terawatt-hours | 375.31 terawatt-hours | 83.09 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 1970s | 683.1 terawatt-hours | 526.04 terawatt-hours | 157.05 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 1980s | 875.61 terawatt-hours | 873.25 terawatt-hours | 2.37 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 1990s | 1,116 terawatt-hours | 1,092 terawatt-hours | 23.32 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2000s | 1,384 terawatt-hours | 1,304 terawatt-hours | 80.54 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2010s | 1,526 terawatt-hours | 1,423 terawatt-hours | 103.06 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2020s | 1,511 terawatt-hours | 1,353 terawatt-hours | 158.65 terawatt-hours | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 1,536 terawatt-hours against 1,398 terawatt-hours in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between Australia and South Africa?
- 138 terawatt-hours, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for primary energy use?
- Australia ranks 19th and South Africa ranks 22nd of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy use. 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.