China vs France: Primary energy from low-carbon energy
China
5,611 terawatt-hours
in 2025
France
1,388 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
France rank
3rd
Primary energy from low-carbon energy over time
- China
- France
How they compare
China currently reports 5,611 terawatt-hours against 1,388 terawatt-hours in France, a difference of 4,223 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 4.0 times France's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was France ahead.
China ranks 1st and France ranks 3rd of 77 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and France in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | France | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.02 terawatt-hours | 58.08 terawatt-hours | 36.06 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1970s | 39.03 terawatt-hours | 117.17 terawatt-hours | 78.14 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 657.63 terawatt-hours | 569.04 terawatt-hours | France |
| 1990s | 198.41 terawatt-hours | 1,185 terawatt-hours | 986.72 terawatt-hours | France |
| 2000s | 575.89 terawatt-hours | 1,404 terawatt-hours | 827.93 terawatt-hours | France |
| 2010s | 1,976 terawatt-hours | 1,412 terawatt-hours | 563.71 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 4,407 terawatt-hours | 1,262 terawatt-hours | 3,145 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from low-carbon energy, China or France?
- China, at 5,611 terawatt-hours against 1,388 terawatt-hours in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from low-carbon energy between China and France?
- 4,223 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and France?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and France rank globally for primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- China ranks 1st and France ranks 3rd 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
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.