China, People's Republic of vs United States: Primary energy from solar
China, People's Republic of
1,173 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
392.75 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China, People's Republic of rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Primary energy from solar over time
- China, People's Republic of
- United States
How they compare
China, People's Republic of currently reports 1,173 terawatt-hours against 392.75 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 780.25 terawatt-hours.
That makes China, People's Republic of's figure about 3.0 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States ahead.
China, People's Republic of ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China, People's Republic of averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China, People's Republic of | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | β |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.0306 terawatt-hours | 0.0306 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 0.0074 terawatt-hours | 0.4866 terawatt-hours | 0.4792 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 0.0965 terawatt-hours | 0.9381 terawatt-hours | 0.8416 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 66.35 terawatt-hours | 43.72 terawatt-hours | 22.63 terawatt-hours | China, People's Republic of |
| 2020s | 601.97 terawatt-hours | 241.03 terawatt-hours | 360.94 terawatt-hours | China, People's Republic of |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from solar, China, People's Republic of or United States?
- China, People's Republic of, at 1,173 terawatt-hours against 392.75 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from solar between China, People's Republic of and United States?
- 780.25 terawatt-hours, with China, People's Republic of ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China, People's Republic of and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China, People's Republic of and United States rank globally for primary energy from solar?
- China, People's Republic of ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 80 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) β 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.