South Africa vs Taiwan: Primary energy from solar
South Africa
18.56 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Taiwan
15.98 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa rank
20th
Taiwan rank
23rd
Primary energy from solar over time
- South Africa
- Taiwan
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 18.56 terawatt-hours against 15.98 terawatt-hours in Taiwan, a difference of 2.58 terawatt-hours.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Taiwan's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Taiwan ahead.
South Africa ranks 20th and Taiwan ranks 23rd of 80 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Taiwan | 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 | 0.0163 terawatt-hours | 0.002 terawatt-hours | 0.0143 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 2.1 terawatt-hours | 1.13 terawatt-hours | 0.9623 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 11.98 terawatt-hours | 11.67 terawatt-hours | 0.311 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from solar, South Africa or Taiwan?
- South Africa, at 18.56 terawatt-hours against 15.98 terawatt-hours in Taiwan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from solar between South Africa and Taiwan?
- 2.58 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Taiwan?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Taiwan rank globally for primary energy from solar?
- South Africa ranks 20th and Taiwan ranks 23rd 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.