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China against the rich world on power per person

Race · 26 Oct 2026

Line race of electricity use per person, 1995 to 2024, for China, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. China, in gold, climbs from 770 kWh to 7,038 kWh and passes the UK, Italy, Germany and France. Japan ends highest at 7,781 kWh.

China now uses more electricity per person than Germany and France

In 1995 a person in China used 770 kWh of electricity a year, a tenth of the Japanese figure. China passed the UK in 2019, Italy in 2020, and France and Germany in 2023. In 2024 it used 7,038 kWh per person. Only Japan, of these, still uses more.

Source: World Bank (IEA), 2024