Brazil vs China (People’s Republic of): Primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables
Brazil
1.5%
in 2025
China (People’s Republic of)
3.3%
in 2025
Brazil rank
27th
China (People’s Republic of) rank
24th
Primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables over time
- Brazil
- China (People’s Republic of)
How they compare
China (People’s Republic of) currently reports 3.3% against 1.5% in Brazil, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes China (People’s Republic of)'s figure about 2.1 times Brazil's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
Brazil ranks 27th and China (People’s Republic of) ranks 24th of 216 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 4 and China (People’s Republic of) in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | China (People’s Republic of) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | Brazil |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | Brazil |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | Brazil |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 0.1% | Brazil |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 3.1% | 1.6% | China (People’s Republic of) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables, Brazil or China (People’s Republic of)?
- China (People’s Republic of), at 3.3% against 1.5% in Brazil as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables between Brazil and China (People’s Republic of)?
- 1.8%, with China (People’s Republic of) ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China (People’s Republic of)?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Brazil and China (People’s Republic of) rank globally for primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables?
- Brazil ranks 27th and China (People’s Republic of) ranks 24th of 216 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.