Fossil fuel production in Australia
Australia: Fossil fuel production was 3,024 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3,024 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 7.0%
World rank
5th
of 34 countries
All-time high
3,804 terawatt-hours
in 2019
All-time low
788.57 terawatt-hours
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Fossil fuel production in Australia, 1981–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
In 2025, fossil fuel production in Australia stood at 3,024 terawatt-hours.
That represents a change of down 7.0% on the previous year and down 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fossil fuel production in Australia peaked at 3,804 terawatt-hours in 2019 and was at its lowest, 788.57 terawatt-hours, in 1981.
Australia ranks 5th of 34 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Fossil fuel production in Australia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 788.57 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1982 | 804.95 terawatt-hours | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 838.74 terawatt-hours | +4.2% |
| 1984 | 880.92 terawatt-hours | +5.0% |
| 1985 | 1,074 terawatt-hours | +22.0% |
| 1986 | 1,143 terawatt-hours | +6.4% |
| 1987 | 1,194 terawatt-hours | +4.4% |
| 1988 | 1,173 terawatt-hours | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 1,275 terawatt-hours | +8.6% |
| 1990 | 1,335 terawatt-hours | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 1,384 terawatt-hours | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 1,477 terawatt-hours | +6.7% |
| 1993 | 1,484 terawatt-hours | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 1,517 terawatt-hours | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 1,592 terawatt-hours | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 1,641 terawatt-hours | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 1,789 terawatt-hours | +9.0% |
| 1998 | 1,832 terawatt-hours | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 1,932 terawatt-hours | +5.4% |
| 2000 | 1,997 terawatt-hours | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 2,158 terawatt-hours | +8.1% |
| 2002 | 2,224 terawatt-hours | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 2,299 terawatt-hours | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 2,389 terawatt-hours | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 2,501 terawatt-hours | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 2,557 terawatt-hours | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 2,641 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 2,721 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 2,823 terawatt-hours | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 2,915 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 2,851 terawatt-hours | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 3,092 terawatt-hours | +8.5% |
| 2013 | 3,324 terawatt-hours | +7.5% |
| 2014 | 3,559 terawatt-hours | +7.1% |
| 2015 | 3,556 terawatt-hours | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 3,563 terawatt-hours | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 3,473 terawatt-hours | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 3,717 terawatt-hours | +7.0% |
| 2019 | 3,804 terawatt-hours | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 3,494 terawatt-hours | -8.1% |
| 2021 | 3,407 terawatt-hours | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 3,180 terawatt-hours | -6.6% |
| 2023 | 3,189 terawatt-hours | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 3,252 terawatt-hours | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 3,024 terawatt-hours | -7.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 3,024 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 28.09 terawatt-hours, 107.7× the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Australia's 3,024 terawatt-hours is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 297.03 terawatt-hours, 10.2× the median. (9 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1,019 terawatt-hours | 788.57 terawatt-hours | 1,275 terawatt-hours | 9 |
| 1990s | 1,598 terawatt-hours | 1,335 terawatt-hours | 1,932 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,431 terawatt-hours | 1,997 terawatt-hours | 2,823 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 3,385 terawatt-hours | 2,851 terawatt-hours | 3,804 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,258 terawatt-hours | 3,024 terawatt-hours | 3,494 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 2 India 4,992 terawatt-hours compare
- 3 Indonesia 4,454 terawatt-hours compare
- 4 United States 3,067 terawatt-hours compare
- 6 Russia 2,545 terawatt-hours compare
- 7 South Africa 1,552 terawatt-hours compare
- 8 Kazakhstan 568.47 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 production in Australia?
- Fossil fuel production in Australia was 3,024 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fossil fuel production recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3,804 terawatt-hours in 2019.
- What is the lowest fossil fuel production recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 788.57 terawatt-hours in 1981.
- How does Australia rank for fossil fuel production?
- Australia ranks 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2025.
- Is fossil fuel production rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. 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) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fossil fuel production. 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
Measured in terawatt-hours.