A child poses in front of an illuminated display of the Chinese national flag that reads “I love China” during a lantern show at the Garden Expo Park in Beijing in September 2024. Photo credit: Andy Wong/AP/Profimedia
China's total electricity consumption topped 10 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) for the first time last year, more than double that of the US, according to figures released on Saturday by the National Energy Administration (NEA) and carried by state broadcaster CCTV.
According to official data, the Asian giant's electricity consumption reached 10,360 billion kWh last year, an increase of 5% compared to the previous year, making China the first country in the world to exceed this threshold and surpassing the combined consumption of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, Agerpres cites.
The secondary sector accounted for the largest share of China's electricity consumption in 2025 at 6.63 billion kWh (+3.7% over the previous year), followed by the tertiary sector at 1.990 billion kWh (+8.2%), urban and rural residential consumption at 1.580 billion kWh (+6.3%) and the primary sector at 149.4 billion kWh (+9.9%), according to the National Energy Agency.
Within the tertiary sector, electricity consumption of battery charging and replacement services, as well as consumption in the information transmission, software and information technology services sectors, increased by 48.8% and 17%, respectively, “becoming the main drivers of the increase” in electricity consumption, NEA said.
