Brazil vs China: Primary energy from low-carbon energy

Brazil
1,172 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
5,611 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Brazil rank
4th
China rank
1st

Primary energy from low-carbon energy over time

  • Brazil
  • China
02.0k4.0k6.0k196519952025

How they compare

China currently reports 5,611 terawatt-hours against 1,172 terawatt-hours in Brazil, a difference of 4,439 terawatt-hours.

That makes China's figure about 4.8 times Brazil's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Brazil ahead.

Brazil ranks 4th and China ranks 1st of 77 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 4 and China in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Brazil China Difference Ahead
1960s 29.17 terawatt-hours 22.02 terawatt-hours 7.15 terawatt-hours Brazil
1970s 81.2 terawatt-hours 39.03 terawatt-hours 42.17 terawatt-hours Brazil
1980s 227.06 terawatt-hours 88.59 terawatt-hours 138.46 terawatt-hours Brazil
1990s 357.05 terawatt-hours 198.41 terawatt-hours 158.64 terawatt-hours Brazil
2000s 506.51 terawatt-hours 575.89 terawatt-hours 69.38 terawatt-hours China
2010s 795.71 terawatt-hours 1,976 terawatt-hours 1,180 terawatt-hours China
2020s 1,033 terawatt-hours 4,407 terawatt-hours 3,374 terawatt-hours China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher primary energy from low-carbon energy, Brazil or China?
China, at 5,611 terawatt-hours against 1,172 terawatt-hours in Brazil as of 2025.
What is the difference in primary energy from low-carbon energy between Brazil and China?
4,439 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
How do Brazil and China rank globally for primary energy from low-carbon energy?
Brazil ranks 4th and China ranks 1st of 77 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy from low-carbon energy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Primary energy from low-carbon energy
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
82 places, 4,686 data points, 1965–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.