Electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Electricity as a share of primary energy was 16.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 16.6% for electricity as a share of primary energy in 2025.
The figure is down 2.7% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand peaked at 22.8% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 15.7%, in 2019.
New Zealand ranks 48th of 79 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 22.8% | — |
| 1986 | 22.1% | -3.0% |
| 1987 | 22.1% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 22.3% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 21.2% | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 20.8% | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 20.8% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 20.1% | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 20.7% | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 20.4% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 20.7% | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 20.2% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 19.9% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 20.3% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 19.5% | -3.9% |
| 2000 | 19.2% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 19.1% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 19.4% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 19.9% | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 20.9% | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 20.5% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 20.5% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 20.6% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 19.9% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 19.6% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 19.2% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 18.8% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 17.3% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 16.5% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 16.1% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 15.9% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 16.1% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 15.7% | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 16.8% | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 17.1% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 17.4% | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 17.0% | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 17.1% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 16.6% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 22.1% | 21.2% | 22.8% | 5 |
| 1990s | 20.3% | 19.5% | 20.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.0% | 19.1% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.0% | 15.7% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.0% | 16.6% | 17.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More energy & mining data for New Zealand
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 1.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 12.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand?
- Electricity as a share of primary energy in New Zealand was 16.6% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity as a share of primary energy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 22.8% in 1985.
- What is the lowest electricity as a share of primary energy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.7% in 2019.
- How does New Zealand rank for electricity as a share of primary energy?
- New Zealand ranks 48th out of 79 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity as a share of primary energy rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity as a share of primary energy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.