China vs India: Year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs.
China
632.58 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
100.34 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs. over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 632.58 terawatt-hours against 100.34 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 532.24 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 6.3 times India's.
The two have swapped places 19 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1966 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 5 and India in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2906 terawatt-hours | 2.93 terawatt-hours | 2.64 terawatt-hours | India |
| 1970s | 2.53 terawatt-hours | 3.04 terawatt-hours | 0.5087 terawatt-hours | India |
| 1980s | 6.99 terawatt-hours | 1.43 terawatt-hours | 5.56 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 13.24 terawatt-hours | 5.18 terawatt-hours | 8.05 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 68.92 terawatt-hours | 7.91 terawatt-hours | 61.01 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 229.05 terawatt-hours | 27.41 terawatt-hours | 201.64 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 396.77 terawatt-hours | 46.73 terawatt-hours | 350.04 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs. low-carbon energy, China or India?
- China, at 632.58 terawatt-hours against 100.34 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs. low-carbon energy between China and India?
- 532.24 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs. low-carbon energy?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 80 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Year-to-year change in primary energy from fossil fuels vs. low-carbon energy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Change in total energy supply relative to the previous year, measured in terawatt-hours.