Primary energy use in North Korea
North Korea: Primary energy use was 193.47 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▼ Falling
Primary energy use in North Korea, 1980–2024
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 terawatt-hours.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary energy use in North Korea is 193.47 terawatt-hours, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 41.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary energy use in North Korea peaked at 337.03 terawatt-hours in 1999 and was at its lowest, 121.91 terawatt-hours, in 2015.
North Korea ranks 68th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 286.22 terawatt-hours | 252.58 terawatt-hours | 322.57 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 284.86 terawatt-hours | 255.69 terawatt-hours | 337.03 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 280.24 terawatt-hours | 233.4 terawatt-hours | 304.33 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 171.44 terawatt-hours | 121.91 terawatt-hours | 228.83 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 192.57 terawatt-hours | 181.91 terawatt-hours | 217.78 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More energy & mining data for North Korea
- Gas production 0 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 0 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fossil fuel production by fuel 0 terawatt-hours (2024)
- Gas production per person 0 kilowatt-hours per person (2024)
- Electric power transmission and distribution losses 15.5% (2023)
- Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs gdp per capita 73.14 (2018)
- Share of dietary energy derived from protein vs gdp per capita 11.5 (2018)
- Share of dietary energy supply from fats vs gdp per capita 15.36 (2018)
- Vegetable oil vs gdp 5.67 (2018)
- Renewable water resources per capita 2,545 (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary energy use in North Korea?
- Primary energy use in North Korea was 193.47 terawatt-hours in 2024, 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 primary energy use recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 337.03 terawatt-hours in 1999.
- What is the lowest primary energy use recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 121.91 terawatt-hours in 2015.
- How does North Korea rank for primary energy use?
- North Korea ranks 68th out of 218 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary energy use rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea 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 Primary energy use. 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 of total energy supply.