Share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan
Japan: Share of primary energy from fossil fuels was 85.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
85.7%
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
41st
of 76 countries
All-time high
97.6%
in 1973
All-time low
80.7%
in 1998
Years of data
61
1965–2025
Share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan, 1965–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan is 85.7%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan peaked at 97.6% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 80.7%, in 1998.
That places Japan 41st out of 76 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 61 years of available data.
Share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 95.5% | — |
| 1966 | 95.8% | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 96.8% | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 96.8% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 97.2% | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 97.2% | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 96.8% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 96.8% | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 97.6% | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 96.4% | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 95.9% | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 95.4% | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 95.8% | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 93.9% | -1.9% |
| 1979 | 92.9% | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 91.6% | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 91.1% | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 89.1% | -2.1% |
| 1983 | 88.4% | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 87.7% | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 85.9% | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 85.5% | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 84.7% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 85.9% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 85.5% | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 85.9% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 85.2% | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 85.3% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 83.6% | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 84.0% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 82.7% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 82.5% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 81.4% | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 80.7% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 81.6% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 81.8% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 81.6% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 81.9% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 85.7% | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 83.2% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 83.3% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 82.5% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 83.8% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 84.8% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 82.4% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 82.1% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 88.1% | +7.3% |
| 2012 | 95.8% | +8.8% |
| 2013 | 95.7% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 96.2% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 95.2% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 94.7% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 93.8% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 92.2% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 91.0% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 91.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 89.9% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 90.1% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 87.8% | -2.6% |
| 2024 | 86.8% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 85.7% | -1.3% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 85.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.7%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Japan's 85.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 88.3%, 97% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 96.4% | 95.5% | 97.2% | 5 |
| 1970s | 95.9% | 92.9% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 87.5% | 84.7% | 91.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.3% | 80.7% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 83.1% | 81.6% | 85.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 92.5% | 82.1% | 96.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.6% | 85.7% | 91.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More energy & mining data for Japan
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.7535 % 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)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 19.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan?
- Share of primary energy from fossil fuels in Japan was 85.7% in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary energy from fossil fuels recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 97.6% in 1973.
- What is the lowest share of primary energy from fossil fuels recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.7% in 1998.
- How does Japan rank for share of primary energy from fossil fuels?
- Japan ranks 41st out of 76 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of primary energy from fossil fuels rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary energy from fossil fuels. 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 as a percentage of total energy supply.