Japan vs South Korea: Primary energy use
Japan
4,578 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Korea
3,604 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan rank
5th
South Korea rank
7th
Primary energy use over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 4,578 terawatt-hours against 3,604 terawatt-hours in South Korea, a difference of 974 terawatt-hours.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.3 times South Korea's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 5th and South Korea ranks 7th of 218 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2,216 terawatt-hours | 104.78 terawatt-hours | 2,111 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1970s | 3,932 terawatt-hours | 270.83 terawatt-hours | 3,661 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1980s | 4,358 terawatt-hours | 638.54 terawatt-hours | 3,720 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1990s | 5,680 terawatt-hours | 1,689 terawatt-hours | 3,992 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2000s | 6,130 terawatt-hours | 2,611 terawatt-hours | 3,519 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2010s | 5,357 terawatt-hours | 3,381 terawatt-hours | 1,976 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 2020s | 4,690 terawatt-hours | 3,584 terawatt-hours | 1,106 terawatt-hours | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 4,578 terawatt-hours against 3,604 terawatt-hours in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between Japan and South Korea?
- 974 terawatt-hours, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for primary energy use?
- Japan ranks 5th 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.