Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea
South Korea: Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use was 3,065 terawatt-hours in 2020. ▲ Rising
Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea, 1995–2020
Source: Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 3,065 terawatt-hours for production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in 2020. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea peaked at 3,065 terawatt-hours in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1,496 terawatt-hours, in 1998.
South Korea ranks 11th of 43 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,897 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1996 | 2,138 terawatt-hours | +12.7% |
| 1997 | 2,096 terawatt-hours | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 1,496 terawatt-hours | -28.6% |
| 1999 | 1,851 terawatt-hours | +23.8% |
| 2000 | 2,038 terawatt-hours | +10.1% |
| 2001 | 2,039 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 2,188 terawatt-hours | +7.3% |
| 2003 | 2,259 terawatt-hours | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 2,336 terawatt-hours | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 2,371 terawatt-hours | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 2,622 terawatt-hours | +10.6% |
| 2007 | 2,577 terawatt-hours | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 2,495 terawatt-hours | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 2,297 terawatt-hours | -7.9% |
| 2010 | 2,624 terawatt-hours | +14.2% |
| 2011 | 2,641 terawatt-hours | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 2,614 terawatt-hours | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 2,591 terawatt-hours | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 2,756 terawatt-hours | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 2,806 terawatt-hours | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 2,678 terawatt-hours | -4.6% |
| 2017 | 3,009 terawatt-hours | +12.4% |
| 2018 | 3,012 terawatt-hours | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 3,037 terawatt-hours | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 3,065 terawatt-hours | +0.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 3,065 terawatt-hours is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3,134 terawatt-hours, 98% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 3,065 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 499.77 terawatt-hours, 6.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | -28.6% | 2,096 terawatt-hours | 1,496 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,896 terawatt-hours | 1,496 terawatt-hours | 2,138 terawatt-hours | 5 |
| 2000s | 2,322 terawatt-hours | 2,038 terawatt-hours | 2,622 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,777 terawatt-hours | 2,591 terawatt-hours | 3,037 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,065 terawatt-hours | 3,065 terawatt-hours | 3,065 terawatt-hours | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More energy & mining data for South Korea
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -1.55 % 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 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 25.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea?
- Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use in South Korea was 3,065 terawatt-hours in 2020, according to Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest production-based vs. consumption-based energy use recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3,065 terawatt-hours in 2020.
- What is the lowest production-based vs. consumption-based energy use recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,496 terawatt-hours in 1998.
- How does South Korea rank for production-based vs. consumption-based energy use?
- South Korea ranks 11th out of 43 countries with data for 2020.
- Is production-based vs. consumption-based energy use rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Kulionis (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Production-based vs. consumption-based energy use. 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
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 terawatt-hours.