Saudi Arabia vs South Africa: Primary energy from solar
Saudi Arabia
18.18 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
18.56 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Saudi Arabia rank
22nd
South Africa rank
20th
Primary energy from solar over time
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 18.56 terawatt-hours against 18.18 terawatt-hours in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 0.38 terawatt-hours.
Across all 61 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Saudi Arabia ranks 22nd and South Africa ranks 20th of 80 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Saudi Arabia | South Africa | 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 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1990s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2000s | 0.0001 terawatt-hours | 0.0163 terawatt-hours | 0.0161 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.0646 terawatt-hours | 2.1 terawatt-hours | 2.03 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 5.65 terawatt-hours | 11.98 terawatt-hours | 6.33 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from solar, Saudi Arabia or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 18.56 terawatt-hours against 18.18 terawatt-hours in Saudi Arabia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from solar between Saudi Arabia and South Africa?
- 0.38 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Saudi Arabia and South Africa?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Saudi Arabia and South Africa rank globally for primary energy from solar?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 22nd and South Africa ranks 20th of 80 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.