Fossil fuel production in South Korea

South Korea: Fossil fuel production was 2.3 terawatt-hours in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
2.3 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 22.7%
World rank
32nd
of 34 countries
All-time high
124.32 terawatt-hours
in 1988
All-time low
2.3 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Years of data
45
1981–2025

Fossil fuel production in South Korea, 1981–2025

02550751001251981200320251981: 101.7 terawatt-hours1982: 102.9 terawatt-hours1983: 101.6 terawatt-hours1984: 109.4 terawatt-hours1985: 115.4 terawatt-hours1986: 124.1 terawatt-hours1987: 124.2 terawatt-hours1988: 124.3 terawatt-hours1989: 106.4 terawatt-hours1990: 90.1 terawatt-hours1991: 78.8 terawatt-hours1992: 62.6 terawatt-hours1993: 49.2 terawatt-hours1994: 38.7 terawatt-hours1995: 29.9 terawatt-hours1996: 25.9 terawatt-hours1997: 23.6 terawatt-hours1998: 22.8 terawatt-hours1999: 22 terawatt-hours2000: 21.7 terawatt-hours2001: 20 terawatt-hours2002: 17.4 terawatt-hours2003: 17.3 terawatt-hours2004: 16.7 terawatt-hours2005: 14.8 terawatt-hours2006: 14.8 terawatt-hours2007: 15.6 terawatt-hours2008: 15 terawatt-hours2009: 13.6 terawatt-hours2010: 11.3 terawatt-hours2011: 11.3 terawatt-hours2012: 11 terawatt-hours2013: 9.5 terawatt-hours2014: 9.1 terawatt-hours2015: 9.2 terawatt-hours2016: 9 terawatt-hours2017: 8.2 terawatt-hours2018: 6.6 terawatt-hours2019: 6 terawatt-hours2020: 5.6 terawatt-hours2021: 4.9 terawatt-hours2022: 4.5 terawatt-hours2023: 3.5 terawatt-hours2024: 3 terawatt-hours2025: 2.3 terawatt-hours

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 South Korea stood at 2.3 terawatt-hours. That is the lowest value across all 45 years on record.

That represents a change of down 22.7% on the previous year and down 75.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fossil fuel production in South Korea peaked at 124.32 terawatt-hours in 1988 and was at its lowest, 2.3 terawatt-hours, in 2025.

South Korea ranks 32nd of 34 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 112.22 terawatt-hours 101.63 terawatt-hours 124.32 terawatt-hours 9
1990s 44.37 terawatt-hours 21.96 terawatt-hours 90.11 terawatt-hours 10
2000s 16.68 terawatt-hours 13.62 terawatt-hours 21.72 terawatt-hours 10
2010s 9.11 terawatt-hours 5.96 terawatt-hours 11.27 terawatt-hours 10
2020s 3.98 terawatt-hours 2.3 terawatt-hours 5.61 terawatt-hours 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 29 Mexico 4.19 terawatt-hours compare
  2. 30 Hungary 4.06 terawatt-hours compare
  3. 31 Japan 3.16 terawatt-hours compare
  4. 33 United Kingdom 0.96 terawatt-hours compare
  5. 34 Spain 0 terawatt-hours compare

See the full ranking of 36 places →

More energy & mining data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is fossil fuel production in South Korea?
Fossil fuel production in South Korea was 2.3 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 South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 124.32 terawatt-hours in 1988.
What is the lowest fossil fuel production recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 2.3 terawatt-hours in 2025.
How does South Korea rank for fossil fuel production?
South Korea ranks 32nd out of 34 countries with data for 2025.
Is fossil fuel production rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 75.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea 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

Indicator
Fossil fuel production
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
36 places, 1,578 data points, 1981–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours.