China vs USSR: Primary energy from renewables
China
4,141 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
202.99 terawatt-hours
in 1984
China rank
1st
USSR rank
3rd
Primary energy from renewables over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
China currently reports 4,141 terawatt-hours against 202.99 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 3,938 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 20.4 times USSR's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 3rd of 77 countries.
USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.02 terawatt-hours | 96.21 terawatt-hours | 74.19 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1970s | 39.03 terawatt-hours | 145 terawatt-hours | 105.97 terawatt-hours | USSR |
| 1980s | 74.28 terawatt-hours | 185.74 terawatt-hours | 111.47 terawatt-hours | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from renewables, China or USSR?
- China, at 4,141 terawatt-hours against 202.99 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from renewables between China and USSR?
- 3,938 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for primary energy from renewables?
- China ranks 1st and USSR ranks 3rd 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.