Iran vs South Korea: Primary energy use
Iran
3,688 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Korea
3,604 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Iran rank
6th
South Korea rank
7th
Primary energy use over time
- Iran
- South Korea
How they compare
Iran currently reports 3,688 terawatt-hours against 3,604 terawatt-hours in South Korea, a difference of 84 terawatt-hours.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Iran ahead.
Iran ranks 6th and South Korea ranks 7th of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 2 and South Korea in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 113.88 terawatt-hours | 104.78 terawatt-hours | 9.1 terawatt-hours | Iran |
| 1970s | 295.7 terawatt-hours | 270.83 terawatt-hours | 24.87 terawatt-hours | Iran |
| 1980s | 555.53 terawatt-hours | 638.54 terawatt-hours | 83.01 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 1990s | 1,039 terawatt-hours | 1,689 terawatt-hours | 649.72 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2000s | 1,883 terawatt-hours | 2,611 terawatt-hours | 728.54 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2010s | 2,793 terawatt-hours | 3,381 terawatt-hours | 588.4 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2020s | 3,526 terawatt-hours | 3,584 terawatt-hours | 58.61 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, Iran or South Korea?
- Iran, at 3,688 terawatt-hours against 3,604 terawatt-hours in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between Iran and South Korea?
- 84 terawatt-hours, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Korea?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Iran and South Korea rank globally for primary energy use?
- Iran ranks 6th and South Korea ranks 7th 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.