China vs United States: Primary energy from hydropower
China
1,392 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
244.14 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
4th
Primary energy from hydropower over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 1,392 terawatt-hours against 244.14 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 1,148 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 5.7 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 ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 77 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.02 terawatt-hours | 222.06 terawatt-hours | 200.04 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 39.03 terawatt-hours | 278.41 terawatt-hours | 239.38 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 287.3 terawatt-hours | 198.71 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 167.14 terawatt-hours | 302.31 terawatt-hours | 135.17 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 399.57 terawatt-hours | 259.13 terawatt-hours | 140.44 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 1,014 terawatt-hours | 275.17 terawatt-hours | 738.41 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 1,319 terawatt-hours | 251.34 terawatt-hours | 1,068 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from hydropower, China or United States?
- China, at 1,392 terawatt-hours against 244.14 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from hydropower between China and United States?
- 1,148 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for primary energy from hydropower?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th 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
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.