China vs United States: Electricity generation from solar
China
1,175 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
388.82 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Electricity generation from solar over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 1,175 terawatt-hours against 388.82 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 786.18 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.0 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 43 shared years of data; in 1983 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 214 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.0437 terawatt-hours | 0.0437 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 0.0074 terawatt-hours | 0.4866 terawatt-hours | 0.4792 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 0.095 terawatt-hours | 0.611 terawatt-hours | 0.516 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 66.35 terawatt-hours | 41.67 terawatt-hours | 24.67 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 602.25 terawatt-hours | 238.62 terawatt-hours | 363.63 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from solar, China or United States?
- China, at 1,175 terawatt-hours against 388.82 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from solar between China and United States?
- 786.18 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for electricity generation from solar?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd 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.