China vs India: Electricity generation from low-carbon sources
China
4,408 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
554.81 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
4th
Electricity generation from low-carbon sources over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 4,408 terawatt-hours against 554.81 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 3,853 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 7.9 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1971 it was India ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, China averaged higher in 5 and India in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 40.69 terawatt-hours | 43.02 terawatt-hours | 2.33 terawatt-hours | India |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 57.66 terawatt-hours | 30.93 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 177.4 terawatt-hours | 83.36 terawatt-hours | 94.05 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 458.53 terawatt-hours | 124.07 terawatt-hours | 334.47 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 1,518 terawatt-hours | 236.82 terawatt-hours | 1,281 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 3,347 terawatt-hours | 423.79 terawatt-hours | 2,923 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher electricity generation from low-carbon sources, China or India?
- China, at 4,408 terawatt-hours against 554.81 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from low-carbon sources between China and India?
- 3,853 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 4th of 214 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.