Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China
China: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 41.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China stood at 41.7%. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
That represents a change of up 9.1% on the previous year and up 54.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China peaked at 41.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.2%, in 2007.
That places China 96th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 20.8% | 20.0% | 22.5% | 5 |
| 1990s | 18.9% | 17.3% | 20.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.7% | 17.2% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.3% | 18.7% | 31.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.0% | 32.8% | 41.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 6.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Population, total 1.41 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 933.17 million (2025)
- Urban population 66.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.09 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in China was 41.7% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 41.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.2% in 2007.
- How does China rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- China ranks 96th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 54.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.