Costa Rica vs El Salvador: Primary energy use
Costa Rica
49.39 terawatt-hours
in 2024
El Salvador
46.81 terawatt-hours
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
118th
El Salvador rank
119th
Primary energy use over time
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 49.39 terawatt-hours against 46.81 terawatt-hours in El Salvador, a difference of 2.58 terawatt-hours.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.1 times El Salvador's.
Across all 45 years both countries report, Costa Rica has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 118th and El Salvador ranks 119th of 219 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | El Salvador | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 12.42 terawatt-hours | 10.16 terawatt-hours | 2.26 terawatt-hours | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 21.68 terawatt-hours | 18.51 terawatt-hours | 3.16 terawatt-hours | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 33.96 terawatt-hours | 29.19 terawatt-hours | 4.77 terawatt-hours | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 41.97 terawatt-hours | 33.19 terawatt-hours | 8.78 terawatt-hours | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 46.62 terawatt-hours | 42.29 terawatt-hours | 4.34 terawatt-hours | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, Costa Rica or El Salvador?
- Costa Rica, at 49.39 terawatt-hours against 46.81 terawatt-hours in El Salvador as of 2024.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 2.58 terawatt-hours, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Costa Rica and El Salvador rank globally for primary energy use?
- Costa Rica ranks 118th and El Salvador ranks 119th of 219 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.