Russia vs United States: Primary direct energy consumption by source
Russia
2,129 terawatt-hours
in 2024
United States
9,949 terawatt-hours
in 2024
Russia rank
4th
United States rank
1st
Primary direct energy consumption by source over time
- Russia
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 9,949 terawatt-hours against 2,129 terawatt-hours in Russia, a difference of 7,820 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 4.7 times Russia's.
Across all 40 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Russia ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 79 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Russia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2,981 terawatt-hours | 9,135 terawatt-hours | 6,154 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 2,084 terawatt-hours | 9,715 terawatt-hours | 7,631 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 1,521 terawatt-hours | 10,726 terawatt-hours | 9,204 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,799 terawatt-hours | 9,889 terawatt-hours | 8,090 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 1,987 terawatt-hours | 9,750 terawatt-hours | 7,763 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary direct energy consumption by source, Russia or United States?
- United States, at 9,949 terawatt-hours against 2,129 terawatt-hours in Russia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in primary direct energy consumption by source between Russia and United States?
- 7,820 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?
- 40 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2024.
- How do Russia and United States rank globally for primary direct energy consumption by source?
- Russia ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 79 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary direct energy consumption by source. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Energy consumption is measured in terawatt-hours, in terms of direct primary energy. This means that fossil fuels include the energy lost due to inefficiencies in energy production.