Brazil vs China: Primary energy from hydropower

Brazil
397.9 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
1,392 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Brazil rank
2nd
China rank
1st

Primary energy from hydropower over time

  • Brazil
  • China
05001.0k1.5k196519952025

How they compare

China currently reports 1,392 terawatt-hours against 397.9 terawatt-hours in Brazil, a difference of 994.1 terawatt-hours.

That makes China's figure about 3.5 times Brazil's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Brazil ahead.

Brazil ranks 2nd and China ranks 1st of 77 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 4 and China in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Brazil China Difference Ahead
1960s 29.17 terawatt-hours 22.02 terawatt-hours 7.15 terawatt-hours Brazil
1970s 72.53 terawatt-hours 39.03 terawatt-hours 33.5 terawatt-hours Brazil
1980s 166.9 terawatt-hours 88.59 terawatt-hours 78.31 terawatt-hours Brazil
1990s 250.87 terawatt-hours 167.14 terawatt-hours 83.73 terawatt-hours Brazil
2000s 330.56 terawatt-hours 399.57 terawatt-hours 69.01 terawatt-hours China
2010s 390.98 terawatt-hours 1,014 terawatt-hours 622.6 terawatt-hours China
2020s 405.33 terawatt-hours 1,319 terawatt-hours 913.72 terawatt-hours China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher primary energy from hydropower, Brazil or China?
China, at 1,392 terawatt-hours against 397.9 terawatt-hours in Brazil as of 2025.
What is the difference in primary energy from hydropower between Brazil and China?
994.1 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
How do Brazil and China rank globally for primary energy from hydropower?
Brazil ranks 2nd and China 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 hydropower. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Primary energy from hydropower
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
82 places, 4,686 data points, 1965–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.