China vs United States: Primary energy use
China
45,054 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 45,054 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 18,990 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.7 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,571 terawatt-hours | 15,521 terawatt-hours | 13,951 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 3,507 terawatt-hours | 19,503 terawatt-hours | 15,995 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 5,867 terawatt-hours | 20,159 terawatt-hours | 14,293 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 9,593 terawatt-hours | 23,807 terawatt-hours | 14,214 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 18,709 terawatt-hours | 26,218 terawatt-hours | 7,509 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 32,539 terawatt-hours | 25,516 terawatt-hours | 7,023 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 41,591 terawatt-hours | 25,287 terawatt-hours | 16,304 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, China or United States?
- China, at 45,054 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between China and United States?
- 18,990 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for primary energy use?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – 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.