South Africa vs United Arab Emirates: Primary energy from solar
South Africa
18.56 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United Arab Emirates
18.2 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa rank
20th
United Arab Emirates rank
21st
Primary energy from solar over time
- South Africa
- United Arab Emirates
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 18.56 terawatt-hours against 18.2 terawatt-hours in United Arab Emirates, a difference of 0.36 terawatt-hours.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United Arab Emirates ahead.
South Africa ranks 20th and United Arab Emirates ranks 21st 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 | United Arab Emirates | 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 | 0.0006 terawatt-hours | 0.0156 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 2.1 terawatt-hours | 0.6671 terawatt-hours | 1.43 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2020s | 11.98 terawatt-hours | 11.04 terawatt-hours | 0.94 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 United Arab Emirates?
- South Africa, at 18.56 terawatt-hours against 18.2 terawatt-hours in United Arab Emirates as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from solar between South Africa and United Arab Emirates?
- 0.36 terawatt-hours, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Arab Emirates?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and United Arab Emirates rank globally for primary energy from solar?
- South Africa ranks 20th and United Arab Emirates ranks 21st 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.