China Saw Biggest Electricity Demand Surge in 2025

Global electricity demand rose by 2.8 percent in 2025, according to a new analysis by independent energy think tank Ember. In its Global Electricity Review 2026, Ember reports that electricity demand grew by 849 terawatt-hour (TWh) globally last year, to a new record high of 31,779 TWh. As our infographic shows, China alone accounted for over half of the increase: the country's electricity demand grew by 503 TWh, way ahead of the United States (+131 TWh) and India (+49 TWh). In 2025, China's electricity demand accounted for a third of the global total for the first time.

While India's electricity demand had the third largest increase last year, Ember points out that it grew at the third-lowest annual rate in two decades in 2025 amid milder weather conditions. Ember points out that the global electricity demand increase in 2025 showed a notable slowdown from the 4.3 percent (+1,265 TWh) surge in 2024, but it aligns with the ten-year average of 2.7 percent. According to Ember, this slowdown is in part due to the fact that there were no temperature-related demand changes, while heatwaves drove a sharp rise in electricity demand globally in 2024. Furthermore, clean power sources fully covered the world’s growing electricity demand last year.