Global electricity consumption 1980-2018
The world's electricity consumption amounted to approximately 23,398 billion kilowatt hours, or 23,398 terawatt hours in 2018. Global power use increased more or less steadily until 2000, when it began seeing a more pronounced growth. This is in part due to the strong economic performance by BRIC countries, such as China and India.
Electricity consumption tends to be smaller than the amount of electricity generated due to several factors, such as grid and storage losses, and self-consumption from power plants.
China's economic rise and growth in global power use
Since 2000, China's GDP has recorded an astonishing 14-fold increase, turning it into the second-largest economy in the world, following the United States. In order to fuel its billion-strong population and the various manufacturing industries, China requires more energy than any other country. As a result it has become the greatest electricity consuming country in the world.Canada tops ranking of per capita power use
However, in terms of per capita electricity consumption, China and other BRIC countries are still vastly outpaced by developed economies with smaller population sizes. Canada and the U.S. in particular consume far more power per person than any other country. Multiple contributing factors such as the existence of power-intensive industries, household sizes, living situation, appliance and efficiency standards, and access to alternative heating fuels determine the amount of electricity the average person requires in each country.Electricity consumption tends to be smaller than the amount of electricity generated due to several factors, such as grid and storage losses, and self-consumption from power plants.
