China vs United States: Primary energy from low-carbon energy
China
5,611 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
4,386 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Primary energy from low-carbon energy over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 5,611 terawatt-hours against 4,386 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 1,225 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 1.3 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 77 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and United States in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 22.02 terawatt-hours | 296.67 terawatt-hours | 274.65 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 39.03 terawatt-hours | 824.24 terawatt-hours | 785.21 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 88.59 terawatt-hours | 1,649 terawatt-hours | 1,561 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 198.41 terawatt-hours | 2,691 terawatt-hours | 2,493 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2000s | 575.89 terawatt-hours | 3,223 terawatt-hours | 2,647 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2010s | 1,976 terawatt-hours | 3,785 terawatt-hours | 1,809 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 2020s | 4,407 terawatt-hours | 4,180 terawatt-hours | 226.88 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 United States?
- China, at 5,611 terawatt-hours against 4,386 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from low-carbon energy between China and United States?
- 1,225 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd 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.