Electric energy consumption

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Electric energy consumption is energy consumption in the form of electrical energy.[2] About a fifth of global energy is consumed as electricity: for residential, industrial, commercial, transportation and other purposes.[2] Quickly increasing this share by further electrification is extremely important to limit climate change,[3] because most other energy is consumed by burning fossil fuels thus emitting greenhouse gases which trap heat.[4]

Electricity consumption by region. By 2025, Asia is projected to account for half of the world’s electricity consumption, with one-third of global electricity to be consumed in China.[1]

The global electricity consumption in 2022 was 24,398 terawatt-hour (TWh), almost exactly three times the amount of consumption in 1981 (8,132 TWh).[5] China, the United States, and India accounted for more than half of the global share of electricity consumption. Japan and Russia followed with nearly twice the consumption of the remaining industrialized countries.[5]

Overview

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Electric energy is most often measured either in joules (J), or in watt hours (W·h).[6]

1 W·s = 1 J
1 W·h = 3,600 W·s = 3,600 J
1 kWh = 3,600 kWs = 1,000 Wh = 3.6 million W·s = 3.6 million J

Electric and electronic devices consume electric energy to generate desired output (light, heat, motion, etc.). During operation, some part of the energy is lost depending on the electrical efficiency.[7]

Electricity has been generated in power stations since 1882.[8] The invention of the steam turbine in 1884 to drive the electric generator led to an increase in worldwide electricity consumption.[9]

In 2022, the total worldwide electricity production was nearly 29,000 TWh.[10] Total primary energy is converted into numerous forms, including, but not limited to, electricity, heat and motion.[11] Some primary energy is lost during the conversion to electricity, as seen in the United States, where a little more than 60% was lost in 2022.[11]

Electricity accounted for more than 20% of worldwide final energy consumption in 2022, with oil being less than 40%, coal being less than 9%, natural gas being less than 15%, biofuels and waste less than 10%, and other sources (such as heat, solar electricity, wind electricity and geothermal) being more than 5%.[12] The total final electricity consumption in 2022 was split unevenly between the following sectors: industry (42.2%), residential (26.8%), commercial and public services (21.1%), transport (1.8%), and other (8.1%; i.e., agriculture and fishing).[12] In 1981, the final electricity consumption continued to decrease in the industrial sector and increase in the residential, commercial and public services sectors.[12]

A sensitivity analysis on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy network model for electric demand estimation shows that employment is the most critical factor influencing electrical consumption.[13] The study used six parameters as input data, employment, GDP, dwelling, population, heating degree day and cooling degree day, with electricity demand as output variable.[13]

World electricity consumption

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The table lists 45 electricity-consuming countries, which used about 22,000 TWh. These countries comprise about 90% of the final consumption of 190+ countries. The final consumption to generate this electricity is provided for every country. The data is from 2022.[10][14]

In 2022, OECD's final electricity consumption was over 10,000 TWh.[5] In that year, the industrial sector consumed about 42.2% of the electricity, with the residential sector consuming nearly 26.8%, the commercial and public services sectors consuming about 21.1%, the transport sector consuming nearly 1.8%, and the other sectors (such as agriculture and fishing) consuming nearly 8.1%.[12] In recent decades, the consumption in the residential and commercial and public services sectors has grown, while the industry consumption has declined.[5] More recently, the transport sector has witnessed an increase in consumption with the growth in the electric vehicle market.[5]

Rank Data 2022 Country Final consumption
(TWh)
Population
(millions)
Per capita consumption
(MWh)
WORLD 24,398 7,960 3.07
1   China 7,214 1,443 5
2   United States 4,272 336 12.71
3   India 1,403 1,401 1
4   Japan 1,132 126 8.98
5   Russia 934 146 6.4
6   Canada 595 38.1 15.62
7   South Korea 553 51.2 10.8
8   Brazil 550 215 2.56
9   Germany 539 82.2 6.55
10   France 463 67.7 6.84
11   Saudi Arabia 317 36 8.81
12   United Kingdom 312 68.4 4.56
13   Indonesia 308 276 1.17
14   Italy 300 60 5
15   Mexico 296 127 2.33
16   Iran 280 83.3 3.36
17   Turkey 264 84 3.14
18   Taiwan 257 23.8[15] 10.8
19   Spain 246 46.8 5.26
20   South Africa 233 60 3.88
21   Australia 225 26 8.65
22   Vietnam 220 100 2.2
23   Thailand 203 70 2.9
24   Malaysia 170 33.2 5.12
25   Egypt 168 105 1.6
26   Poland 156 37.5 4.17
27   Ukraine 154 43.2 3.56
28   Sweden 147 10.2 14.4
29   Argentina 138 46 3
30   United Arab Emirates 136 10.2 13.33
31   Norway 128 5.5 23.27
32   Pakistan 124 226 0.55
33   Netherlands 120 17.5 6.86
34   Belgium 98 11.8 8.33
35   Finland 90 5.6 16.03
36   Chile 84 19.2 4.38
37   Kazakhstan 75 18.7 4
38   Austria 73 9.1 8.02
39   Venezuela 72 28.1 2.56
40   Algeria 66 44 1.5
41    Switzerland 62 9.3 6.67
42   Israel 59 9.4 6.27
43   New Zealand 43 5 8.6
44   Denmark 35 5.8 6.02
45   Ireland 28 5.5 5.1

Consumption per capita

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The final consumption divided by the number of inhabitants provides a country's consumption per capita. In Western Europe, this is between 4 and 8 MWh/year.[10] (1 MWh = 1,000 kWh) In Scandinavia, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom, the per capita consumption is higher; however, in developing countries, it is much lower.[10] The world's average was about 3 MWh/year in 2022.[10] Very low consumption levels, such as those in Philippines, not included in the table, indicate that many inhabitants are not connected to the electricity grid, and that is the reason why some of the world's most populous countries, incl. Nigeria and Bangladesh, do not appear in the table.[14]

Electricity generation and GDP

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The table lists 30 countries, which represent about 76% of the world population, 84% of the world GDP, and 85% of the world electricity generation.[10][14][16][17] Productivity per electricity generation (concept similar to energy intensity) can be measured by dividing GDP over the electricity generated. The data is from 2019.[10][14][16][17]

Electricity Generation (2019) and GDP (PPP) (2019)
Country Population,
millions
rank* GDP (PPP),
billions (USD)
rank* GDP (PPP)
per capita
rank* Electricity
generation
(GWh/yr)
rank* GDP (PPP)
/kWh*
  China 1,407 1 $14,280 2 $10,149 15 7,503,428 1 $1.9
  India 1,366 2 $2,871 6 $2,102 26 1,603,675 3 $1.8
  USA 328 3 $21,433 1 $65,345 1 4,411,159 2 $4.9
  Indonesia 270.6 4 $1,119 16 $4,135 20 278,942 17 $4.0
  Brazil 211 6 $1,878 9 $8,900 18 626,328 7 $3.0
  Pakistan 216.6 5 $279 26 $1,288 28 138,626 24 $2.0
  Bangladesh 163 8 $302 25 $1,853 27 89,672 27 $3.4
  Nigeria 201 7 $448 22 $2,229 25 33,552[18] 28 $13.4
  Russia 144 9 $1,687 11 $11,715 14 1,118,143 4 $1.5
  Japan 126 11 $5,149 3 $40,865 7 1,030,286 5 $5.0
  Mexico 127.6 10 $1,269 15 $9,945 16 322,584 13 $3.9
  Philippines 108 13 $377 23 $3,491 21 106,041 26 $3.6
  Vietnam 96.5 15 $262 27 $2,715 24 227,461 21 $1.2
  Ethiopia 112 12 $96 29 $857 29 14,553[19] 29 $6.6
  Egypt 100.4 14 $303 24 $3,018 23 200,563 22 $1.5
  Germany 83 18 $3,888 4 $46,843 4 609,406 8 $6.4
  Turkey 83.5 17 $761 19 $9,114 17 303,898 15 $2.5
  DR Congo 86.8 16 $50 30 $576 30 9,990[20] 30 $5.0
  Iran 83 19 $258 28 $3,108 22 318,696 14 $0.8
  Thailand 69.6 20 $544 21 $7,816 19 186,503 23 $2.9
  France 67.3 21 $2,729 7 $40,550 8 562,842 10 $4.8
  UK 66.8 22 $2,879 5 $43,099 6 324,761 12 $8.9
  Italy 59.7 23 $2,009 8 $33,652 9 293,853 16 $6.8
  South Korea 51.7 24 $1,651 12 $31,934 10 585,301 9 $2.8
  Spain 47.1 25 $1,393 13 $29,575 11 267,501 19 $5.2
  Canada 37.6 26 $1,742 10 $46,330 5 648,676 6 $2.7
  Saudi Arabia 34.3 27 $793 18 $23,120 13 343,661 11 $2.3
  Taiwan 23.6[15] 28 $605[21] 20 $25,636 12 274,059 18 $2.2
  Australia 25.4 29 $1,392 14 $54,803 2 265,901 20 $5.2
  Netherlands 17.3 30 $910 17 $52,601 3 121,062 25 $7.5
World 7,683 $87,555 $11,395 27,044,191 $3.5
  • Population data is from the World Bank[14]
  • GDP data is from the World Bank[16]
  • Electricity data is from BP Global[17]
  • rank* of Population, GDP, and Electricity generation are rankings within this list
  • GDP (PPP) / kWh is the amount of GDP (PPP) (USD) produced per kilowatt-hour

Electricity consumption by sector

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The table below lists the 15 countries with the highest final electricity consumption, which comprised more than 70% of the global consumption in 2022.[10]

Electricity Final Consumption by Sector (2022)
Country/ Geographical Region Total
(TWh)
Industry Transport Commercial
/Public
Services
Residential Agriculture

/Forestry

other
  China 7,214 59.9% 2.4% 7.3% 16.4% 2.2% 11.8%
  United States 4,272 19.9% 0.6% 35.2% 37.4% 2.1% 4.8%
  India 1,403 37.7% 11.2% 7.8% 21.7% 15.9% 5.7%
  Japan 1,132 37% 1.8% 33.7% 27.1% 0.3% 0.1%
  Russia 934 44.8% 11.1% 20.4% 21.1% 2.5% 0.1%
  Canada 595 35.9% 1.5% 28.1% 32.5% 2.0% 0%
  South Korea 553 52.3% 0.6% 31.4% 12.7% 2.5% 0.5%
  Brazil 550 38.3% 0.7% 27.3% 27.7% 6% 0%
  Germany 539 44.8% 2.3% 26.4% 25.4% 1.1% 0%
  France 463 26.9% 2.4% 31.5% 37% 1.9% 0.3%
  Saudi Arabia 317 33.7% 3.9% 28.3% 25% 4.1% 5%
  United Kingdom 312 18.3% 2.2% 38.2% 39.1% 2% 0.2%
  Italy 300 30% 5% 32% 30% 1% 2%
  Mexico 296 29% 4% 33% 30% 3% 1%
  Iran 280 24% 6% 37% 25% 5% 3%
World 24,398 42.2% 1.8% 21.1% 26.8% 3.1% 5%

Electricity outlook

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Looking forward, increasing energy efficiency will result in less electricity needed for a given demand in power, but demand will increase strongly on the account of:[22]

  • Economic growth in developing countries,[22] and
  • Electrification of transport and heating. Combustion engines are replaced by electric drive and for heating less gas and oil, but more electricity is used, if possible with heat pumps.[22]

As transport and heating become more climate-friendly, the environmental effect of energy consumption will be more determined by electricity.[22]

The International Energy Agency expects revisions of subsidies for fossil fuels which amounted to $550 billion in 2013, more than four times renewable energy subsidies. In this scenario,[23] almost half of the increase in 2040 of electricity consumption is covered by more than 80% growth of renewable energy. Many new nuclear plants will be constructed, mainly to replace old ones. The nuclear part of electricity generation will increase from 11 to 12%. The renewable part goes up much more, from 21 to 33%. The IEA warns that in order to restrict global warming to 2 °C, carbon dioxide emissions[24] must not exceed 1000 gigaton (Gt) from 2014. This limit is reached in 2040 and emissions will not drop to zero ever.

The World Energy Council[25] sees world electricity consumption increasing to more than 40,000 TWh/a in 2040. The fossil part of generation depends on energy policy. It can stay around 70% in the so-called Jazz scenario where countries rather independently "improvise" but it can also decrease to around 40% in the Symphony scenario if countries work "orchestrated" for more climate friendly policy. Carbon dioxide emissions, 32 Gt/a in 2012, will increase to 46 Gt/a in Jazz but decrease to 26 Gt/a in Symphony. Accordingly, until 2040 the renewable part of generation will stay at about 20% in Jazz but increase to about 45% in Symphony.

An EU survey conducted on climate and energy consumption in 2022 found that 63% of people in the European Union want energy costs to be dependent on use, with the greatest consumers paying more. This is compared to 83% in China, 63% in the UK and 57% in the US.[26][27] 24% of Americans surveyed believing that people and businesses should do more to cut their own usage (compared to 20% in the UK, 19% in the EU, and 17% in China).[28][29]

Nearly half of those polled in the European Union (47%) and the United Kingdom (45%) want their government to focus on the development of renewable energies. This is compared to 37% in both the United States and China when asked to list their priorities on energy.[28][30][31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Electricity Market Report 2023" (PDF). IEA.org. International Energy Agency. February 2023. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2023. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
  2. ^ a b "Electricity explained: Use of electricity - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  3. ^ "Electrification – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  4. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max; Rosado, Pablo (2022-10-27). "Energy". Our World in Data.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Electricity consumption – Electricity Information: Overview – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  6. ^ "Energy Units". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  7. ^ "Electricity – Sustainable Recovery – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  8. ^ "Electricity Generation". Institute for Energy Research. Institute for Energy Research. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Catalog of CHP Technologies: Section 4. Technology Characterization – Steam Turbines" (PDF). www.epa.gov. March 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Data tables – Data & Statistics". IEA. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  11. ^ a b "More than 60% of energy used for electricity generation is lost in conversion - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  12. ^ a b c d "Key World Energy Statistics 2021 – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  13. ^ a b Zahedi, Gholamreza; Azizi, Saeed; Bahadori, Alireza; Elkamel, Ali; R. Wan Alwi, Sharifah (2013). "Electricity demand estimation using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy network: A case study from the Ontario province – Canada". Energy. 49: 323–328. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2012.10.019.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Population, total | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  15. ^ a b "National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan)". eng.stat.gov.tw. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  16. ^ a b c "GDP (current US$) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  17. ^ a b c "Statistical Review of World Energy | Energy economics | Home". bp global. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  18. ^ "Energy Profile: Nigeria" (PDF). International Renewable Energy Agency. September 29, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "Energy Profile: Ethiopia". International Renewable Energy Agency. September 29, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "Energy Profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo" (PDF). International Renewable Energy Agency. September 29, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan)". eng.stat.gov.tw. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  22. ^ a b c d "World Energy Outlook 2021 – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  23. ^ IEA World energy outlook
  24. ^ by fossil fuel
  25. ^ World energy scenarios
  26. ^ "2022-2023 EIB Climate Survey, part 1 of 2: Majority of Europeans say the war in Ukraine and high energy prices should accelerate the green transition". EIB.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  27. ^ "Energy poverty". energy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  28. ^ a b "2022-2023 EIB Climate Survey, part 1 of 2: Majority of Europeans say the war in Ukraine and high energy prices should accelerate the green transition". EIB.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  29. ^ "Energy efficiency directive". energy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  30. ^ ""Fit for 55": Council agrees on higher targets for renewables and energy efficiency". www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  31. ^ "Share of energy consumption from renewable sources in Europe". www.eea.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
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