Fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand
New Zealand: Fossil fuel consumption by fuel was 27.45 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
27.45 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 10.1%
World rank
79th
of 220 countries
All-time high
61.99 terawatt-hours
in 2001
All-time low
0.7104 terawatt-hours
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand, 1970–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
In 2025, fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand stood at 27.45 terawatt-hours.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.1% on the previous year and down 42.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand peaked at 61.99 terawatt-hours in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.7104 terawatt-hours, in 1970.
That places New Zealand 79th out of 220 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7104 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1971 | 0.9024 terawatt-hours | +27.0% |
| 1972 | 1.64 terawatt-hours | +81.2% |
| 1973 | 1.9 terawatt-hours | +16.2% |
| 1974 | 3.2 terawatt-hours | +68.5% |
| 1975 | 3.47 terawatt-hours | +8.5% |
| 1976 | 9.33 terawatt-hours | +168.5% |
| 1977 | 15.34 terawatt-hours | +64.4% |
| 1978 | 14.38 terawatt-hours | -6.3% |
| 1979 | 9.72 terawatt-hours | -32.4% |
| 1980 | 8.9 terawatt-hours | -8.5% |
| 1981 | 10.97 terawatt-hours | +23.3% |
| 1982 | 19.72 terawatt-hours | +79.8% |
| 1983 | 21.39 terawatt-hours | +8.5% |
| 1984 | 27.38 terawatt-hours | +28.0% |
| 1985 | 34.95 terawatt-hours | +27.7% |
| 1986 | 42.15 terawatt-hours | +20.6% |
| 1987 | 40.72 terawatt-hours | -3.4% |
| 1988 | 44.23 terawatt-hours | +8.6% |
| 1989 | 45.38 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 45.15 terawatt-hours | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 48.35 terawatt-hours | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 51.16 terawatt-hours | +5.8% |
| 1993 | 49.9 terawatt-hours | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 46.77 terawatt-hours | -6.3% |
| 1995 | 44.63 terawatt-hours | -4.6% |
| 1996 | 50.87 terawatt-hours | +14.0% |
| 1997 | 54.81 terawatt-hours | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 48.31 terawatt-hours | -11.8% |
| 1999 | 55.23 terawatt-hours | +14.3% |
| 2000 | 58.75 terawatt-hours | +6.4% |
| 2001 | 61.99 terawatt-hours | +5.5% |
| 2002 | 59.18 terawatt-hours | -4.5% |
| 2003 | 44.62 terawatt-hours | -24.6% |
| 2004 | 40.72 terawatt-hours | -8.8% |
| 2005 | 37.58 terawatt-hours | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 38.15 terawatt-hours | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 42.15 terawatt-hours | +10.5% |
| 2008 | 39.05 terawatt-hours | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 40.14 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 43.76 terawatt-hours | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 40.22 terawatt-hours | -8.1% |
| 2012 | 44.65 terawatt-hours | +11.0% |
| 2013 | 47.06 terawatt-hours | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 52.29 terawatt-hours | +11.1% |
| 2015 | 48.02 terawatt-hours | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 47.97 terawatt-hours | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 49.88 terawatt-hours | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 45.01 terawatt-hours | -9.8% |
| 2019 | 48.05 terawatt-hours | +6.8% |
| 2020 | 45.73 terawatt-hours | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 39.04 terawatt-hours | -14.6% |
| 2022 | 36.71 terawatt-hours | -6.0% |
| 2023 | 38.55 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 2024 | 30.54 terawatt-hours | -20.8% |
| 2025 | 27.45 terawatt-hours | -10.1% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 27.45 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 27.08 terawatt-hours, 1.0× the median. (76 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +168.5% | 3.47 terawatt-hours | 9.33 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.06 terawatt-hours | 0.7104 terawatt-hours | 15.34 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1980s | 29.58 terawatt-hours | 8.9 terawatt-hours | 45.38 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.52 terawatt-hours | 44.63 terawatt-hours | 55.23 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 46.23 terawatt-hours | 37.58 terawatt-hours | 61.99 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.69 terawatt-hours | 40.22 terawatt-hours | 52.29 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.34 terawatt-hours | 27.45 terawatt-hours | 45.73 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 76 Armenia 28.85 terawatt-hours compare
- 77 Dominican Republic 28.43 terawatt-hours compare
- 78 Cote d'Ivoire 28.06 terawatt-hours compare
- 80 Puerto Rico 27.26 terawatt-hours compare
- 81 Equatorial Guinea 26.9 terawatt-hours compare
- 82 Bulgaria 26.89 terawatt-hours compare
More energy & mining data for New Zealand
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- 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)
- Fuel imports 12.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand?
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel in New Zealand was 27.45 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fossil fuel consumption by fuel recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 61.99 terawatt-hours in 2001.
- What is the lowest fossil fuel consumption by fuel recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7104 terawatt-hours in 1970.
- How does New Zealand rank for fossil fuel consumption by fuel?
- New Zealand ranks 79th out of 220 countries with data for 2025.
- Is fossil fuel consumption by fuel rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026); Etemad & Luciani (1991) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fossil fuel consumption by fuel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.