Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States
United States: Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy was 16.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States, 1965–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States stood at 16.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and up 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States peaked at 16.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 1966.
That places United States 31st out of 80 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 1.8% | — |
| 1966 | 1.8% | -2.0% |
| 1967 | 1.9% | +9.9% |
| 1968 | 2.0% | +1.2% |
| 1969 | 2.1% | +5.9% |
| 1970 | 2.1% | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 2.5% | +16.8% |
| 1972 | 2.7% | +10.1% |
| 1973 | 3.1% | +14.4% |
| 1974 | 3.9% | +24.6% |
| 1975 | 5.0% | +28.6% |
| 1976 | 5.0% | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 5.5% | +9.4% |
| 1978 | 6.1% | +10.7% |
| 1979 | 5.7% | -5.6% |
| 1980 | 5.9% | +3.6% |
| 1981 | 6.4% | +8.1% |
| 1982 | 7.1% | +10.9% |
| 1983 | 7.5% | +6.4% |
| 1984 | 7.8% | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 8.5% | +9.6% |
| 1986 | 9.1% | +6.2% |
| 1987 | 9.2% | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 9.7% | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 10.0% | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 11.0% | +9.6% |
| 1991 | 11.5% | +5.2% |
| 1992 | 11.3% | -1.8% |
| 1993 | 11.2% | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 11.3% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 11.6% | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 11.4% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 10.9% | -5.1% |
| 1998 | 11.2% | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 11.7% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 11.5% | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 11.7% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 12.0% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 11.9% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 12.0% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 12.0% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 12.4% | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 12.4% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 13.1% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 14.0% | +6.9% |
| 2010 | 13.9% | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 14.3% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 14.3% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 14.5% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 14.8% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 15.4% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 15.7% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 15.3% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 15.5% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 16.7% | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 16.0% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 16.1% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 16.6% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 16.9% | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 16.8% | -0.7% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 16.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.3%, 92% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +28.6% | 3.9% | 5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 5 |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 2.1% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.1% | 5.9% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.3% | 10.9% | 11.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 11.5% | 14.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 13.9% | 15.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.5% | 16.0% | 16.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 274,482 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,922 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 213,560 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 229.89 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 7,627 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 107,381 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 89,068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 18,313 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 336.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 654.05 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States?
- Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy in United States was 16.8% in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary energy from low-carbon energy recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 16.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of primary energy from low-carbon energy recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 1966.
- How does United States rank for share of primary energy from low-carbon energy?
- United States ranks 31st out of 80 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of primary energy from low-carbon energy rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary energy from low-carbon energy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.