Fossil fuel consumption in Australia
Australia: Fossil fuel consumption was 1,414 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1,414 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
16th
of 220 countries
All-time high
1,531 terawatt-hours
in 2019
All-time low
402.08 terawatt-hours
in 1965
Years of data
61
1965–2025
Fossil fuel consumption in Australia, 1965–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1,414 terawatt-hours for fossil fuel consumption in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fossil fuel consumption in Australia peaked at 1,531 terawatt-hours in 2019 and was at its lowest, 402.08 terawatt-hours, in 1965.
That places Australia 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Fossil fuel consumption in Australia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 402.08 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1966 | 423.48 terawatt-hours | +5.3% |
| 1967 | 449.68 terawatt-hours | +6.2% |
| 1968 | 477.28 terawatt-hours | +6.1% |
| 1969 | 495.85 terawatt-hours | +3.9% |
| 1970 | 539.19 terawatt-hours | +8.7% |
| 1971 | 563.94 terawatt-hours | +4.6% |
| 1972 | 591.04 terawatt-hours | +4.8% |
| 1973 | 631.95 terawatt-hours | +6.9% |
| 1974 | 669.51 terawatt-hours | +5.9% |
| 1975 | 678.32 terawatt-hours | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 705.69 terawatt-hours | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 744.55 terawatt-hours | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 766.53 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 1979 | 797.83 terawatt-hours | +4.1% |
| 1980 | 803.2 terawatt-hours | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 815.5 terawatt-hours | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 810.51 terawatt-hours | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 804.35 terawatt-hours | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 831.13 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 853.62 terawatt-hours | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 869.47 terawatt-hours | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 895.78 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 1988 | 936.59 terawatt-hours | +4.6% |
| 1989 | 984.98 terawatt-hours | +5.2% |
| 1990 | 1,005 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 995.34 terawatt-hours | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 1,011 terawatt-hours | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 1,034 terawatt-hours | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 1,076 terawatt-hours | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 1,105 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 1,138 terawatt-hours | +2.9% |
| 1997 | 1,167 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 1,196 terawatt-hours | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 1,245 terawatt-hours | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 1,253 terawatt-hours | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 1,264 terawatt-hours | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 1,289 terawatt-hours | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 1,306 terawatt-hours | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 1,348 terawatt-hours | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 1,350 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 1,409 terawatt-hours | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 1,446 terawatt-hours | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 1,475 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 1,450 terawatt-hours | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 1,444 terawatt-hours | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 1,470 terawatt-hours | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 1,449 terawatt-hours | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 1,454 terawatt-hours | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 1,473 terawatt-hours | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 1,501 terawatt-hours | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 1,492 terawatt-hours | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 1,494 terawatt-hours | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 1,491 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 1,531 terawatt-hours | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 1,413 terawatt-hours | -7.7% |
| 2021 | 1,384 terawatt-hours | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 1,429 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 1,406 terawatt-hours | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 1,432 terawatt-hours | +1.9% |
| 2025 | 1,414 terawatt-hours | -1.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1,414 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 117.38 terawatt-hours, 12.0× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1,414 terawatt-hours is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 56.44 terawatt-hours, 25.1× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 449.67 terawatt-hours | 402.08 terawatt-hours | 495.85 terawatt-hours | 5 |
| 1970s | 668.85 terawatt-hours | 539.19 terawatt-hours | 797.83 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1980s | 860.51 terawatt-hours | 803.2 terawatt-hours | 984.98 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,097 terawatt-hours | 995.34 terawatt-hours | 1,245 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,359 terawatt-hours | 1,253 terawatt-hours | 1,475 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,480 terawatt-hours | 1,444 terawatt-hours | 1,531 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,413 terawatt-hours | 1,384 terawatt-hours | 1,432 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 13 Mexico 2,020 terawatt-hours compare
- 14 Brazil 1,937 terawatt-hours compare
- 15 Turkey 1,747 terawatt-hours compare
- 17 United Kingdom 1,379 terawatt-hours compare
- 18 South Africa 1,332 terawatt-hours compare
- 19 United Arab Emirates 1,321 terawatt-hours compare
More energy & mining data for Australia
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.4235 % 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 0.0001 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0.0001 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 11.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fossil fuel consumption in Australia?
- Fossil fuel consumption in Australia was 1,414 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fossil fuel consumption recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 1,531 terawatt-hours in 2019.
- What is the lowest fossil fuel consumption recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 402.08 terawatt-hours in 1965.
- How does Australia rank for fossil fuel consumption?
- Australia ranks 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2025.
- Is fossil fuel consumption rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fossil fuel consumption. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and gas.