Global electricity consumption 2021, by country
China consumes by far the most electricity of any country in the world, with more than 7.8 terawatt-hours consumed in 2021. The United States ranked as the second-leading electricity consumer that year, with nearly 4,000 terawatt hours consumed. India followed, but by a wide margin.
Countries with a high GDP per capita as the United States provide their residents greater average purchasing power. Countries with higher-income residents tend to be more urbanized, leading to higher electricity consumption. The U.S. stands amongst the ten-largest electricity consumers per capita in the world, with Iceland and Norway leading the ranking.
Large population, high consumption?
The world's top three electricity consumers constitute the countries with the largest population. China leads both rankings. India, on the other hand, nearly matches China in terms of population, while recording less than one fifth of the annual Chinese electricity consumption. Meanwhile, countries like Nigeria, which boasted the seventh-largest population worldwide didn't even rank among the top 20 electricity consumers.Countries with a high GDP per capita as the United States provide their residents greater average purchasing power. Countries with higher-income residents tend to be more urbanized, leading to higher electricity consumption. The U.S. stands amongst the ten-largest electricity consumers per capita in the world, with Iceland and Norway leading the ranking.
