China vs United States of America: Primary energy use
China
45,054 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States of America
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States of America rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- China
- United States of America
How they compare
China currently reports 45,054 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States of America, a difference of 18,990 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.7 times United States of America's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States of America ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 219 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,571 terawatt-hours | 15,521 terawatt-hours | 13,951 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1970s | 3,507 terawatt-hours | 19,503 terawatt-hours | 15,995 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1980s | 5,867 terawatt-hours | 20,159 terawatt-hours | 14,293 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1990s | 9,593 terawatt-hours | 23,807 terawatt-hours | 14,214 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 2000s | 18,709 terawatt-hours | 26,218 terawatt-hours | 7,509 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 2010s | 32,539 terawatt-hours | 25,516 terawatt-hours | 7,023 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 41,591 terawatt-hours | 25,287 terawatt-hours | 16,304 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, China or United States of America?
- China, at 45,054 terawatt-hours against 26,064 terawatt-hours in United States of America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between China and United States of America?
- 18,990 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States of America rank globally for primary energy use?
- China ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd 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) β 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.