Brazil vs China: Electricity generation from low-carbon sources
Brazil
665.84 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
4,408 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Brazil rank
3rd
China rank
1st
Electricity generation from low-carbon sources over time
- Brazil
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 4,408 terawatt-hours against 665.84 terawatt-hours in Brazil, a difference of 3,742 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 6.6 times Brazil's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 36 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Brazil ahead.
Brazil ranks 3rd and China ranks 1st of 209 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 1 and China in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Brazil | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 258.88 terawatt-hours | 177.4 terawatt-hours | 81.47 terawatt-hours | Brazil |
| 2000s | 357.21 terawatt-hours | 458.53 terawatt-hours | 101.32 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 475.86 terawatt-hours | 1,518 terawatt-hours | 1,042 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 607.59 terawatt-hours | 3,347 terawatt-hours | 2,740 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from low-carbon sources, Brazil or China?
- China, at 4,408 terawatt-hours against 665.84 terawatt-hours in Brazil as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from low-carbon sources between Brazil and China?
- 3,742 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do Brazil and China rank globally for electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- Brazil ranks 3rd and China ranks 1st of 209 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.