Australia vs France: Solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity
Australia
42.44 gigawatts
in 2025
France
31.07 gigawatts
in 2025
Australia rank
8th
France rank
11th
Solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity over time
- Australia
- France
How they compare
Australia currently reports 42.44 gigawatts against 31.07 gigawatts in France, a difference of 11.37 gigawatts.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.4 times France's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 26 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 8th and France ranks 11th of 199 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and France in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | France | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0767 gigawatts | 0.0453 gigawatts | 0.0314 gigawatts | Australia |
| 2010s | 5.72 gigawatts | 5.99 gigawatts | 0.2692 gigawatts | France |
| 2020s | 31.01 gigawatts | 19.67 gigawatts | 11.34 gigawatts | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity, Australia or France?
- Australia, at 42.44 gigawatts against 31.07 gigawatts in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity between Australia and France?
- 11.37 gigawatts, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and France?
- 26 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2025.
- How do Australia and France rank globally for solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity?
- Australia ranks 8th and France ranks 11th of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- IRENA (2026) β processed by Our World in Data, published as Solar (photovoltaic) panels cumulative capacity. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Solar photovoltaic (on-grid) electricity installed capacity, measured in gigawatts.