Iceland vs South Africa: Primary energy from low-carbon energy
Iceland
69.81 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
66.15 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Iceland rank
40th
South Africa rank
42nd
Primary energy from low-carbon energy over time
- Iceland
- South Africa
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 69.81 terawatt-hours against 66.15 terawatt-hours in South Africa, a difference of 3.66 terawatt-hours.
That makes Iceland's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Iceland ahead.
Iceland ranks 40th and South Africa ranks 42nd of 80 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.699 terawatt-hours | 0.0288 terawatt-hours | 0.6702 terawatt-hours | Iceland |
| 1970s | 2.35 terawatt-hours | 1.11 terawatt-hours | 1.24 terawatt-hours | Iceland |
| 1980s | 5.46 terawatt-hours | 15.34 terawatt-hours | 9.88 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1990s | 8.9 terawatt-hours | 33.43 terawatt-hours | 24.53 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2000s | 31.72 terawatt-hours | 39.75 terawatt-hours | 8.03 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 2010s | 65.41 terawatt-hours | 48.44 terawatt-hours | 16.98 terawatt-hours | Iceland |
| 2020s | 72.81 terawatt-hours | 57.05 terawatt-hours | 15.76 terawatt-hours | Iceland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from low-carbon energy, Iceland or South Africa?
- Iceland, at 69.81 terawatt-hours against 66.15 terawatt-hours in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from low-carbon energy between Iceland and South Africa?
- 3.66 terawatt-hours, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and South Africa?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and South Africa rank globally for primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- Iceland ranks 40th and South Africa ranks 42nd of 80 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.