Renewable energy consumption in North America
North America: Renewable energy consumption was 12.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Renewable energy consumption in North America, 1990–2020
Source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA). Measured in % of total final energy consumption.
Analysis
In 2020, renewable energy consumption in North America stood at 12.5%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.6% on the previous year and up 40.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, renewable energy consumption in North America peaked at 12.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.1%, in 1994.
That places North America 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Renewable energy consumption in North America, year by year
| Year | % of total final energy consumption | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.2% | — |
| 1991 | 6.5% | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 6.7% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 6.3% | -6.8% |
| 1994 | 6.1% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 6.7% | +9.5% |
| 1996 | 6.7% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 6.4% | -4.6% |
| 1998 | 6.4% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 7.5% | +16.8% |
| 2000 | 7.0% | -6.6% |
| 2001 | 6.3% | -10.0% |
| 2002 | 6.5% | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 6.9% | +6.4% |
| 2004 | 7.2% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 7.5% | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 8.0% | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 7.9% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 8.4% | +5.7% |
| 2009 | 8.9% | +6.3% |
| 2010 | 8.9% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 9.9% | +11.0% |
| 2012 | 10.0% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 10.4% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 10.5% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 10.4% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 10.7% | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 11.2% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 11.3% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 11.6% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 12.5% | +7.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.5% | 6.1% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.5% | 6.3% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.5% | 8.9% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.5% | 12.5% | 12.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near North America
- 37 Sudan 61.0% compare
- 38 Paraguay 58.8% compare
- 39 Côte d'Ivoire 58.2% compare
- 40 Sweden 57.9% compare
- 41 Uruguay 57.8% compare
- 42 Liechtenstein 56.9% compare
- 43 Papua New Guinea 54.6% compare
More energy & mining data for North America
- Fuel imports 7.3% (2024)
- Ores and metals imports 2.3% (2024)
- Ores and metals exports 3.8% (2024)
- Fuel exports 20.3% (2024)
- Electric power transmission and distribution losses 5.2% (2024)
- Mineral rents 0.2% (2021)
- Natural gas rents 0.4% (2021)
- Total natural resources rents 1.6% (2021)
- Alternative and nuclear energy 14.9% (2024)
- Electric power consumption 12,975 kWh per capita (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is renewable energy consumption in North America?
- Renewable energy consumption in North America was 12.5% in 2020, according to IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA).
- What is the highest renewable energy consumption recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest renewable energy consumption recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.1% in 1994.
- How does North America rank for renewable energy consumption?
- North America ranks 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2020.
- Is renewable energy consumption rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), published as part of Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Renewable energy consumption is the share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption.