Global consumption of electricity by select country 2017

China consumes the most electricity of any country in the world, at approximately 6.3 petawatt hours in 2017. The United States ranks as the second-largest energy consumer of energy, followed by India at a significant margin.

Large population, high consumption?

The three countries with the highest electricity consumption are also the most populated. China has the largest population in the world and consumes the most electricity. India on the other hand, follows China much more closely in terms of population than in electricity consumption. The United States consumes far more electricity than India but has a much smaller population size, although, it is still the third largest country in the world. The United States' per capita electricity consumption is therefore, much higher than that of India’s consumption.

Electricity, income, and urbanization

Large GDP per capita in the United States is one factor that contributes to high electricity consumption and is an indicator of a very developed economy. Countries with higher-income residents tend to be more urbanized, leading to higher electricity consumption. The residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity in the United States.