Share of primary energy from solar in China
China: Share of primary energy from solar was 2.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of primary energy from solar in China, 1965–2025
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 %.
Analysis
China recorded 2.6% for share of primary energy from solar in 2025. That is the highest value across all 61 years on record.
The figure is up 36.9% on the previous year and up 2,069.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary energy from solar in China peaked at 2.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1965.
That places China 22nd out of 80 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of primary energy from solar in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 0.0% | — |
| 1966 | 0.0% | — |
| 1967 | 0.0% | — |
| 1968 | 0.0% | — |
| 1969 | 0.0% | — |
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1971 | 0.0% | — |
| 1972 | 0.0% | — |
| 1973 | 0.0% | — |
| 1974 | 0.0% | — |
| 1975 | 0.0% | — |
| 1976 | 0.0% | — |
| 1977 | 0.0% | — |
| 1978 | 0.0% | — |
| 1979 | 0.0% | — |
| 1980 | 0.0% | — |
| 1981 | 0.0% | — |
| 1982 | 0.0% | — |
| 1983 | 0.0% | — |
| 1984 | 0.0% | — |
| 1985 | 0.0% | — |
| 1986 | 0.0% | — |
| 1987 | 0.0% | — |
| 1988 | 0.0% | — |
| 1989 | 0.0% | — |
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1991 | 0.0% | -5.0% |
| 1992 | 0.0% | +42.5% |
| 1993 | 0.0% | +24.0% |
| 1994 | 0.0% | +17.8% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | +36.4% |
| 1996 | 0.0% | +21.7% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | +21.6% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +27.1% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | +17.1% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | +25.3% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +34.2% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | +41.8% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | +13.7% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +10.5% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | +29.6% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | +75.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +136.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | +243.9% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | +33.5% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | +125.0% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | +175.8% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | +66.5% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | +68.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | +70.9% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | +43.7% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | +22.9% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +13.6% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | +18.8% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | +28.6% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | +28.7% |
| 2024 | 1.9% | +39.4% |
| 2025 | 2.6% | +36.9% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 2.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7%, 3.8× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- China's 2.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 3.8× the median. (12 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of primary energy from solar in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +243.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | +175.8% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 0.7% | 2.6% | 6 |
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 share of primary energy from solar in China?
- Share of primary energy from solar in China was 2.6% in 2025, 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 share of primary energy from solar recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of primary energy from solar recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1965.
- How does China rank for share of primary energy from solar?
- China ranks 22nd out of 80 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of primary energy from solar rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2,069.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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 Share of primary energy from solar. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.