Electricity generation from hydropower in Australia
Australia: Electricity generation from hydropower was 12.22 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
12.22 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 4.9%
World rank
46th
of 215 countries
All-time high
19.57 terawatt-hours
in 2011
All-time low
7.35 terawatt-hours
in 1966
Years of data
61
1965–2025
Electricity generation from hydropower in Australia, 1965–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Australia recorded 12.22 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from hydropower in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from hydropower in Australia peaked at 19.57 terawatt-hours in 2011 and was at its lowest, 7.35 terawatt-hours, in 1966.
That places Australia 46th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Electricity generation from hydropower in Australia, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 7.69 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1966 | 7.35 terawatt-hours | -4.5% |
| 1967 | 7.61 terawatt-hours | +3.6% |
| 1968 | 7.95 terawatt-hours | +4.5% |
| 1969 | 8.68 terawatt-hours | +9.2% |
| 1970 | 10.17 terawatt-hours | +17.1% |
| 1971 | 11.51 terawatt-hours | +13.1% |
| 1972 | 11.55 terawatt-hours | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 12.29 terawatt-hours | +6.3% |
| 1974 | 13.87 terawatt-hours | +12.9% |
| 1975 | 14.89 terawatt-hours | +7.3% |
| 1976 | 14.15 terawatt-hours | -4.9% |
| 1977 | 13.54 terawatt-hours | -4.3% |
| 1978 | 14.68 terawatt-hours | +8.4% |
| 1979 | 14.25 terawatt-hours | -2.9% |
| 1980 | 13.47 terawatt-hours | -5.5% |
| 1981 | 13.87 terawatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 12.77 terawatt-hours | -7.9% |
| 1983 | 12.12 terawatt-hours | -5.1% |
| 1984 | 13.13 terawatt-hours | +8.3% |
| 1985 | 13.94 terawatt-hours | +6.2% |
| 1986 | 14.03 terawatt-hours | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 13.61 terawatt-hours | -2.9% |
| 1988 | 14.33 terawatt-hours | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 14.25 terawatt-hours | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 14.76 terawatt-hours | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 15.65 terawatt-hours | +6.1% |
| 1992 | 15.94 terawatt-hours | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 16.39 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 16.15 terawatt-hours | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 15.63 terawatt-hours | -3.2% |
| 1996 | 15.97 terawatt-hours | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 15.95 terawatt-hours | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 15.8 terawatt-hours | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 16.28 terawatt-hours | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 16.47 terawatt-hours | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 16.12 terawatt-hours | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 16.09 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 16.21 terawatt-hours | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 15.69 terawatt-hours | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 15.47 terawatt-hours | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 14.95 terawatt-hours | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 13.05 terawatt-hours | -12.7% |
| 2008 | 11.82 terawatt-hours | -9.4% |
| 2009 | 12.64 terawatt-hours | +6.9% |
| 2010 | 13.75 terawatt-hours | +8.8% |
| 2011 | 19.57 terawatt-hours | +42.3% |
| 2012 | 17.04 terawatt-hours | -12.9% |
| 2013 | 19.09 terawatt-hours | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 14.48 terawatt-hours | -24.1% |
| 2015 | 14.09 terawatt-hours | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 17.63 terawatt-hours | +25.1% |
| 2017 | 13.5 terawatt-hours | -23.4% |
| 2018 | 17.31 terawatt-hours | +28.2% |
| 2019 | 14.02 terawatt-hours | -19.0% |
| 2020 | 14.42 terawatt-hours | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 15.94 terawatt-hours | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 16.66 terawatt-hours | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 15.08 terawatt-hours | -9.5% |
| 2024 | 12.85 terawatt-hours | -14.8% |
| 2025 | 12.22 terawatt-hours | -4.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 12.22 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.23 terawatt-hours, 53.1× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Australia's 12.22 terawatt-hours is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.57 terawatt-hours, 21.4× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.86 terawatt-hours | 7.35 terawatt-hours | 8.68 terawatt-hours | 5 |
| 1970s | 13.09 terawatt-hours | 10.17 terawatt-hours | 14.89 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.55 terawatt-hours | 12.12 terawatt-hours | 14.33 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.85 terawatt-hours | 14.76 terawatt-hours | 16.39 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.85 terawatt-hours | 11.82 terawatt-hours | 16.47 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.05 terawatt-hours | 13.5 terawatt-hours | 19.57 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.53 terawatt-hours | 12.22 terawatt-hours | 16.66 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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 electricity generation from hydropower in Australia?
- Electricity generation from hydropower in Australia was 12.22 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 19.57 terawatt-hours in 2011.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.35 terawatt-hours in 1966.
- How does Australia rank for electricity generation from hydropower?
- Australia ranks 46th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from hydropower rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from hydropower. 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.