Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China
China: Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person was 28.1 kilowatt-hours in 2020. ▲ Rising
Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China, 1995–2020
Source: Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in kilowatt-hours.
Analysis
China recorded 28.1 kilowatt-hours for production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in 2020. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.2% on the previous year and up 49.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China peaked at 28.1 kilowatt-hours in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.8 kilowatt-hours, in 1998.
That places China 36th out of 43 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China, year by year
| Year | kilowatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 9.1 kilowatt-hours | — |
| 1996 | 9.14 kilowatt-hours | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 8.89 kilowatt-hours | -2.7% |
| 1998 | 8.8 kilowatt-hours | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 9.15 kilowatt-hours | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 9.37 kilowatt-hours | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 9.63 kilowatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 10.1 kilowatt-hours | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 11 kilowatt-hours | +8.9% |
| 2004 | 12.4 kilowatt-hours | +12.7% |
| 2005 | 12.8 kilowatt-hours | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 13.2 kilowatt-hours | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 14.1 kilowatt-hours | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 14.9 kilowatt-hours | +5.7% |
| 2009 | 17.1 kilowatt-hours | +14.8% |
| 2010 | 18.8 kilowatt-hours | +9.9% |
| 2011 | 20.3 kilowatt-hours | +8.0% |
| 2012 | 20.9 kilowatt-hours | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 21.7 kilowatt-hours | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 21.9 kilowatt-hours | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 22 kilowatt-hours | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 21.1 kilowatt-hours | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 22.2 kilowatt-hours | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 25.5 kilowatt-hours | +14.9% |
| 2019 | 25.5 kilowatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 28.1 kilowatt-hours | +10.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 28.1 kilowatt-hours is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 53.1 kilowatt-hours, 53% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
- China's 28.1 kilowatt-hours is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.15 kilowatt-hours, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.02 kilowatt-hours | 8.8 kilowatt-hours | 9.15 kilowatt-hours | 5 |
| 2000s | 12.46 kilowatt-hours | 9.37 kilowatt-hours | 17.1 kilowatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.99 kilowatt-hours | 18.8 kilowatt-hours | 25.5 kilowatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.1 kilowatt-hours | 28.1 kilowatt-hours | 28.1 kilowatt-hours | 1 |
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 production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China?
- Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person in China was 28.1 kilowatt-hours in 2020, according to Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 28.1 kilowatt-hours in 2020.
- What is the lowest production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8 kilowatt-hours in 1998.
- How does China rank for production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person?
- China ranks 36th out of 43 countries with data for 2020.
- Is production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Production- vs. consumption-based energy use per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Consumption-based (trade-adjusted) energy use measures domestic energy use minus energy used to produce exported goods, plus energy used to produce imported goods. Measured in megawatt-hours.