China vs OECD (EI): Electricity generation from solar
China
1,175 terawatt-hours
in 2025
OECD (EI)
1,106 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
OECD (EI) rank
1st
Electricity generation from solar over time
- China
- OECD (EI)
How they compare
China currently reports 1,175 terawatt-hours against 1,106 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI), a difference of 69 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times OECD (EI)'s.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 55 shared years of data; in 1971 it was OECD (EI) ahead.
China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st of 214 countries.
OECD (EI) has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | OECD (EI) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.0319 terawatt-hours | 0.0319 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 1990s | 0.0074 terawatt-hours | 0.6219 terawatt-hours | 0.6145 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2000s | 0.095 terawatt-hours | 5.89 terawatt-hours | 5.79 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2010s | 66.35 terawatt-hours | 186.55 terawatt-hours | 120.2 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
| 2020s | 602.25 terawatt-hours | 736.92 terawatt-hours | 134.66 terawatt-hours | OECD (EI) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from solar, China or OECD (EI)?
- China, at 1,175 terawatt-hours against 1,106 terawatt-hours in OECD (EI) as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from solar between China and OECD (EI)?
- 69 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and OECD (EI)?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2025.
- How do China and OECD (EI) rank globally for electricity generation from solar?
- China ranks 1st and OECD (EI) ranks 1st 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.