China vs United States: Electricity generation from low-carbon sources
China
4,408 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
1,944 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Electricity generation from low-carbon sources over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 4,408 terawatt-hours against 1,944 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 2,464 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 2.3 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1983 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 209 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 98.25 terawatt-hours | 767.24 terawatt-hours | 668.99 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 177.4 terawatt-hours | 1,048 terawatt-hours | 870.51 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 458.53 terawatt-hours | 1,137 terawatt-hours | 678.68 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,518 terawatt-hours | 1,385 terawatt-hours | 132.25 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 3,347 terawatt-hours | 1,751 terawatt-hours | 1,596 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 United States?
- China, at 4,408 terawatt-hours against 1,944 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in electricity generation from low-carbon sources between China and United States?
- 2,464 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd 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.