United States vs USSR: Primary energy from low-carbon energy
United States
4,386 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
638.74 terawatt-hours
in 1984
United States rank
2nd
USSR rank
3rd
Primary energy from low-carbon energy over time
- United States
- USSR
How they compare
United States currently reports 4,386 terawatt-hours against 638.74 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 3,747 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 6.9 times USSR's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
United States ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 3rd of 77 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 296.67 terawatt-hours | 104.05 terawatt-hours | 192.61 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 824.24 terawatt-hours | 231.44 terawatt-hours | 592.8 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 1,349 terawatt-hours | 498.75 terawatt-hours | 849.79 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy from low-carbon energy, United States or USSR?
- United States, at 4,386 terawatt-hours against 638.74 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy from low-carbon energy between United States and USSR?
- 3,747 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States and USSR?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1984.
- How do United States and USSR rank globally for primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- United States ranks 2nd and USSR 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.