OECD (EI) vs United States: Primary energy use

OECD (EI)
61,079 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI) rank
1st
United States rank
2nd

Primary energy use over time

  • OECD (EI)
  • United States
20.0k40.0k60.0k196519952025

How they compare

OECD (EI) currently reports 61,079 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 35,015 terawatt-hours.

That makes OECD (EI)'s figure about 2.3 times United States's.

Across all 61 years both countries report, OECD (EI) has been ahead every year.

OECD (EI) ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 3 groups.

OECD (EI) has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade OECD (EI) United States Difference Ahead
1960s 32,468 terawatt-hours 15,521 terawatt-hours 16,947 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
1970s 43,615 terawatt-hours 19,503 terawatt-hours 24,112 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
1980s 48,135 terawatt-hours 20,159 terawatt-hours 27,976 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
1990s 57,171 terawatt-hours 23,807 terawatt-hours 33,364 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
2000s 63,850 terawatt-hours 26,218 terawatt-hours 37,632 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
2010s 63,032 terawatt-hours 25,516 terawatt-hours 37,515 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)
2020s 60,461 terawatt-hours 25,287 terawatt-hours 35,174 terawatt-hours OECD (EI)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher primary energy use, OECD (EI) or United States?
OECD (EI), at 61,079 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
What is the difference in primary energy use between OECD (EI) and United States?
35,015 terawatt-hours, with OECD (EI) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for OECD (EI) and United States?
61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
How do OECD (EI) and United States rank globally for primary energy use?
OECD (EI) ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 3 groups.
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

Indicator
Primary energy use
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
221 places, 10,722 data points, 1965–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.