Electricity generation from solar in South Korea
South Korea: Electricity generation from solar was 37.8 terawatt-hours in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electricity generation from solar in South Korea, 1971–2025
Source: Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
In 2025, electricity generation from solar in South Korea stood at 37.8 terawatt-hours. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.5% on the previous year and up 793.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from solar in South Korea peaked at 37.8 terawatt-hours in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 terawatt-hours, in 1971.
South Korea ranks 10th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Electricity generation from solar in South Korea, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1972 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1973 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1974 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1975 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1976 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1977 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1978 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1979 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1980 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1981 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1982 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1983 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1984 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1985 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1986 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1987 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1988 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1989 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1990 | 0.001 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1991 | 0.001 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.002 terawatt-hours | +100.0% |
| 1993 | 0.002 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.002 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.002 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.003 terawatt-hours | +50.0% |
| 1997 | 0.003 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.004 terawatt-hours | +33.3% |
| 1999 | 0.0046 terawatt-hours | +14.3% |
| 2000 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +118.7% |
| 2001 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.03 terawatt-hours | +200.0% |
| 2007 | 0.07 terawatt-hours | +133.3% |
| 2008 | 0.28 terawatt-hours | +300.0% |
| 2009 | 0.57 terawatt-hours | +103.6% |
| 2010 | 0.77 terawatt-hours | +35.1% |
| 2011 | 0.92 terawatt-hours | +19.5% |
| 2012 | 1.13 terawatt-hours | +22.8% |
| 2013 | 1.67 terawatt-hours | +47.8% |
| 2014 | 2.69 terawatt-hours | +61.1% |
| 2015 | 4.23 terawatt-hours | +57.2% |
| 2016 | 5.52 terawatt-hours | +30.5% |
| 2017 | 7.74 terawatt-hours | +40.2% |
| 2018 | 10.17 terawatt-hours | +31.4% |
| 2019 | 14.19 terawatt-hours | +39.5% |
| 2020 | 19.34 terawatt-hours | +36.3% |
| 2021 | 24.72 terawatt-hours | +27.8% |
| 2022 | 30.73 terawatt-hours | +24.3% |
| 2023 | 33.24 terawatt-hours | +8.2% |
| 2024 | 32.72 terawatt-hours | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 37.8 terawatt-hours | +15.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 37.8 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 1 terawatt-hours, 37.8× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 37.8 terawatt-hours is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.165 terawatt-hours, 229.1× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Electricity generation from solar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +300.0% | 0.07 terawatt-hours | 0.28 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 9 |
| 1980s | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0025 terawatt-hours | 0.001 terawatt-hours | 0.0046 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.101 terawatt-hours | 0.01 terawatt-hours | 0.57 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.9 terawatt-hours | 0.77 terawatt-hours | 14.19 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.76 terawatt-hours | 19.34 terawatt-hours | 37.8 terawatt-hours | 6 |
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 electricity generation from solar in South Korea?
- Electricity generation from solar in South Korea was 37.8 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from solar recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 37.8 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from solar recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 terawatt-hours in 1971.
- How does South Korea rank for electricity generation from solar?
- South Korea ranks 10th out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from solar rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 793.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from solar. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.