Energy Consumption by the Numbers

What country consumes the most oil per person? (Surprise: it isnt the U.S.) Which one produces the most electricity from nuclear power? (No, it isnt France.) Heres a snapshot of how energy consumption patterns differ around the world.
Compiled by Christine Buurma

Per-Capita Energy Consumption

Countries with the highest per capita energy consumption in 2005* (in kilograms of oil equivalent per person) Qatar Iceland Bahrain Kuwait United Arab Emirates Luxembourg Trinidad and Tobago Netherlands Antilles Canada U.S. 19,466 12,209 11,180 11,102 10,354 10,138 9,736 9,057 8,473 7,886 Countries with the lowest per capita energy consumption

Bangladesh Eritrea Senegal Myanmar Haiti Congo, Dem Rep Congo Ethiopia Benin Yemen

171 175 261 291 293 295 300 304 306 321

Super Gasoline Prices

Countries with lowest super gasoline* prices as of mid-November 2008 (U.S. dollars/gallon)

Venezuela Iran Libya Saudi Arabia Bahrain Countries with highest super gasoline prices Eritrea Turkey Cape Verde Malawi

$0.08 0.38 0.53 0.61 0.79

Based on International Energy Agency data for 2005, the most recent year for which IEA has data. Note: Numbers have been rounded off Source: World Resources Institute

Total Energy Consumption

$9.58 7.08 6.96 6.74 Countries with highest total energy consumption in 2005 (thousand tons of oil equivalent) U.S. China Russia India Japan
Source: International Energy Agency

China (including Hong Kong) 7.38

Countries with lowest total energy consumption in 2005 (thousand tons of oil equivalent) Gibraltar Eritrea Malta Congo Namibia 152 771 949 1,199 1,379

2,341,883 1,717,153 646,680 537,309 528,384

United States super gasoline price: $2.12 *Super gasoline has a higher octane rating than regular gasoline. The higher octane rating helps prevent a vehicles engine from igniting before the optimal time. Source: German Technical Cooperation

Nuclear Power
Countries with the most nuclear power generation in 2007, in billions of kilowatt hours U.S. France Japan Russia South Korea Germany Canada Ukraine Sweden China 807 420 267 148 137 133 88 87 64 59

Solar Power
Countries with the most solar power capacity installed, in megawatts* Germany Spain Japan U.S. India China Italy Portugal South Korea France
*Includes estimates for 2008 capacity Source: Navigant Consulting

Wind Power
U.S. states with the most installed wind capacity, in megawatts Texas California Minnesota Iowa Washington Colorado Oregon Illinois Oklahoma New Mexico 4,446 2,439 1,299 1,271 1,163 1,067 885 699 689 496

5,761 2,303 2,248 1,407 413 256 200 156 139 89

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency and U.S. Energy Information Administration

Source: The American Wind Energy Association