China vs India: Electricity generation from solar
China
1,175 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
195.99 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Electricity generation from solar over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 1,175 terawatt-hours against 195.99 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 979.01 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 6.0 times India's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 55 shared years of data; in 1971 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1990s | 0.0074 terawatt-hours | 0.0025 terawatt-hours | 0.0049 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 0.095 terawatt-hours | 0.03 terawatt-hours | 0.065 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 66.35 terawatt-hours | 12.79 terawatt-hours | 53.56 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 602.25 terawatt-hours | 111.48 terawatt-hours | 490.77 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from solar, China or India?
- China, at 1,175 terawatt-hours against 195.99 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from solar between China and India?
- 979.01 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for electricity generation from solar?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026); Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation 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.