Japan vs United States: Primary energy use
Japan
4,578 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan rank
5th
United States rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 26,064 terawatt-hours against 4,578 terawatt-hours in Japan, a difference of 21,486 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 5.7 times Japan's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2,216 terawatt-hours | 15,521 terawatt-hours | 13,305 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 3,932 terawatt-hours | 19,503 terawatt-hours | 15,571 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 4,358 terawatt-hours | 20,159 terawatt-hours | 15,801 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 5,680 terawatt-hours | 23,807 terawatt-hours | 18,127 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 6,130 terawatt-hours | 26,218 terawatt-hours | 20,088 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 5,357 terawatt-hours | 25,516 terawatt-hours | 20,159 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 4,690 terawatt-hours | 25,287 terawatt-hours | 20,597 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, Japan or United States?
- United States, at 26,064 terawatt-hours against 4,578 terawatt-hours in Japan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between Japan and United States?
- 21,486 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for primary energy use?
- Japan ranks 5th 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.