United States of America vs USSR: Primary energy use
United States of America
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
17,692 terawatt-hours
in 1991
United States of America rank
2nd
USSR rank
3rd
Primary energy use over time
- United States of America
- USSR
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 26,064 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 8,372 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.5 times USSR's.
Across all 27 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
United States of America ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 3rd of 219 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States of America | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15,521 terawatt-hours | 7,495 terawatt-hours | 8,026 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1970s | 19,503 terawatt-hours | 10,740 terawatt-hours | 8,763 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1980s | 20,159 terawatt-hours | 15,673 terawatt-hours | 4,487 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
| 1990s | 22,256 terawatt-hours | 17,833 terawatt-hours | 4,424 terawatt-hours | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, United States of America or USSR?
- United States of America, at 26,064 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between United States of America and USSR?
- 8,372 terawatt-hours, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States of America and USSR?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1991.
- How do United States of America and USSR rank globally for primary energy use?
- United States of America ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 3rd 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.