Fossil fuel consumption in North Korea

North Korea: Fossil fuel consumption was 176.3 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
176.3 terawatt-hours
Change on year
up 4.8%
World rank
61st
of 214 countries
All-time high
326.23 terawatt-hours
in 1999
All-time low
111.21 terawatt-hours
in 2016
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Fossil fuel consumption in North Korea, 1980–2024

1001502002503003501980200220241980: 264.3 terawatt-hours1981: 275.3 terawatt-hours1982: 288.4 terawatt-hours1983: 302.3 terawatt-hours1984: 311.2 terawatt-hours1985: 255.7 terawatt-hours1986: 256.1 terawatt-hours1987: 249.6 terawatt-hours1988: 297.1 terawatt-hours1989: 237.6 terawatt-hours1990: 240.5 terawatt-hours1991: 240.7 terawatt-hours1992: 246.2 terawatt-hours1993: 269.7 terawatt-hours1994: 260 terawatt-hours1995: 301.8 terawatt-hours1996: 291.2 terawatt-hours1997: 286.8 terawatt-hours1998: 252.6 terawatt-hours1999: 326.2 terawatt-hours2000: 293.8 terawatt-hours2001: 285.5 terawatt-hours2002: 277.4 terawatt-hours2003: 273.6 terawatt-hours2004: 284.7 terawatt-hours2005: 280.2 terawatt-hours2006: 268.6 terawatt-hours2007: 237.3 terawatt-hours2008: 257.7 terawatt-hours2009: 221 terawatt-hours2010: 207 terawatt-hours2011: 144.3 terawatt-hours2012: 136.3 terawatt-hours2013: 125.9 terawatt-hours2014: 124.2 terawatt-hours2015: 112 terawatt-hours2016: 111.2 terawatt-hours2017: 216.2 terawatt-hours2018: 194.8 terawatt-hours2019: 217.7 terawatt-hours2020: 204.9 terawatt-hours2021: 168.4 terawatt-hours2022: 165.2 terawatt-hours2023: 168.3 terawatt-hours2024: 176.3 terawatt-hours

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

North Korea recorded 176.3 terawatt-hours for fossil fuel consumption in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.8% on the previous year and up 41.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fossil fuel consumption in North Korea peaked at 326.23 terawatt-hours in 1999 and was at its lowest, 111.21 terawatt-hours, in 2016.

That places North Korea 61st out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 273.75 terawatt-hours 237.58 terawatt-hours 311.2 terawatt-hours 10
1990s 271.58 terawatt-hours 240.47 terawatt-hours 326.23 terawatt-hours 10
2000s 267.98 terawatt-hours 221 terawatt-hours 293.8 terawatt-hours 10
2010s 158.95 terawatt-hours 111.21 terawatt-hours 217.74 terawatt-hours 10
2020s 176.61 terawatt-hours 165.16 terawatt-hours 204.88 terawatt-hours 5

Countries ranked near North Korea

  1. 58 Austria 229.54 terawatt-hours compare
  2. 59 Azerbaijan 194.07 terawatt-hours compare
  3. 60 Hungary 182.89 terawatt-hours compare
  4. 62 Sweden 169.73 terawatt-hours compare
  5. 63 Ecuador 167.72 terawatt-hours compare
  6. 64 Portugal 164.43 terawatt-hours compare

See the full ranking of 222 places →

More energy & mining data for North Korea

All data for North Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is fossil fuel consumption in North Korea?
Fossil fuel consumption in North Korea was 176.3 terawatt-hours in 2024, 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 North Korea?
The highest recorded value was 326.23 terawatt-hours in 1999.
What is the lowest fossil fuel consumption recorded in North Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 111.21 terawatt-hours in 2016.
How does North Korea rank for fossil fuel consumption?
North Korea ranks 61st out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
Is fossil fuel consumption rising or falling in North Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 41.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this North Korea 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 — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Fossil fuel consumption
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
222 places, 10,754 data points, 1965–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and gas.