China vs OECD (EI): Primary energy from solar
China
1,173 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI)
1,106 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
OECD (EI) rank
1st
Primary energy from solar over time
- China
- OECD (EI)
How they compare
China currently reports 1,173 terawatt-hours against 1,106 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI), a difference of 67 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times OECD (EI)'s.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was OECD (EI) ahead.
China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 77 countries.
OECD (EI) has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | OECD (EI) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.0319 terawatt-hours | 0.0319 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1990s | 0.0074 terawatt-hours | 0.6219 terawatt-hours | 0.6145 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2000s | 0.0965 terawatt-hours | 5.89 terawatt-hours | 5.79 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2010s | 66.35 terawatt-hours | 186.55 terawatt-hours | 120.2 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2020s | 601.97 terawatt-hours | 736.92 terawatt-hours | 134.95 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from solar, China or OECD (EI)?
- China, at 1,173 terawatt-hours against 1,106 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI) as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from solar between China and OECD (EI)?
- 67 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and OECD (EI)?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and OECD (EI) rank globally for primary energy from solar?
- China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 77 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy from solar. 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.