China vs OECD (EI): Primary energy from renewables
China
4,141 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI)
6,116 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
OECD (EI) rank
1st
Primary energy from renewables over time
- China
- OECD (EI)
How they compare
OECD (EI) currently reports 6,116 terawatt-hours against 4,141 terawatt-hours in China, a difference of 1,975 terawatt-hours.
That makes OECD (EI)'s figure about 1.5 times China's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, OECD (EI) has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 77 countries.
OECD (EI) has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | OECD (EI) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.02 terawatt-hours | 872.16 terawatt-hours | 850.14 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1970s | 39.03 terawatt-hours | 1,139 terawatt-hours | 1,100 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 1,508 terawatt-hours | 1,419 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1990s | 172.05 terawatt-hours | 1,953 terawatt-hours | 1,781 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2000s | 435.99 terawatt-hours | 2,470 terawatt-hours | 2,034 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2010s | 1,436 terawatt-hours | 4,108 terawatt-hours | 2,672 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2020s | 3,113 terawatt-hours | 5,601 terawatt-hours | 2,488 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from renewables, China or OECD (EI)?
- OECD (EI), at 6,116 terawatt-hours against 4,141 terawatt-hours in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from renewables between China and OECD (EI)?
- 1,975 terawatt-hours, with OECD (EI) ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and OECD (EI)?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and OECD (EI) rank globally for primary energy from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) 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 renewables. 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.