Net electricity imports in China
China: Net electricity imports was -19.46 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▼ Falling
Net electricity imports in China, 2000–2025
Source: Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
The most recent figure for net electricity imports in China is -19.46 terawatt-hours, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 14.5% on the previous year and down 56.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net electricity imports in China peaked at -6.08 terawatt-hours in 2004 and was at its lowest, -19.46 terawatt-hours, in 2025.
That places China 210th out of 214 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Net electricity imports in China, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -8.75 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | -8.6 terawatt-hours | -1.7% |
| 2002 | -8.4 terawatt-hours | -2.3% |
| 2003 | -7.36 terawatt-hours | -12.4% |
| 2004 | -6.08 terawatt-hours | -17.4% |
| 2005 | -6.18 terawatt-hours | +1.6% |
| 2006 | -6.88 terawatt-hours | +11.3% |
| 2007 | -10.31 terawatt-hours | +49.9% |
| 2008 | -12.8 terawatt-hours | +24.2% |
| 2009 | -11.38 terawatt-hours | -11.1% |
| 2010 | -13.51 terawatt-hours | +18.7% |
| 2011 | -12.74 terawatt-hours | -5.7% |
| 2012 | -10.78 terawatt-hours | -15.4% |
| 2013 | -11.23 terawatt-hours | +4.2% |
| 2014 | -11.41 terawatt-hours | +1.6% |
| 2015 | -12.44 terawatt-hours | +9.0% |
| 2016 | -12.72 terawatt-hours | +2.3% |
| 2017 | -13.05 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 2018 | -15.22 terawatt-hours | +16.6% |
| 2019 | -16.8 terawatt-hours | +10.4% |
| 2020 | -17.04 terawatt-hours | +1.4% |
| 2021 | -14.24 terawatt-hours | -16.4% |
| 2022 | -12.95 terawatt-hours | -9.1% |
| 2023 | -17.08 terawatt-hours | +31.9% |
| 2024 | -17 terawatt-hours | -0.5% |
| 2025 | -19.46 terawatt-hours | +14.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | -8.67 terawatt-hours | -12.8 terawatt-hours | -6.08 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | -12.99 terawatt-hours | -16.8 terawatt-hours | -10.78 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | -16.29 terawatt-hours | -19.46 terawatt-hours | -12.95 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More energy & mining data for China
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 2.15 % 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 20.4% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is net electricity imports in China?
- Net electricity imports in China was -19.46 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest net electricity imports recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was -6.08 terawatt-hours in 2004.
- What is the lowest net electricity imports recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was -19.46 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- How does China rank for net electricity imports?
- China ranks 210th out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is net electricity imports rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026); Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the UK (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Net electricity imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Electricity imports minus exports, measured in terawatt-hours.