List of Countries Energy Use per Capita

A list of energy use (kg of oil equivalent) per capita by country.

The list shows a huge disparity between the highest energy users and the lowest.

It is worth bearing in mind:

• Colder countries understandably have a relatively higher use of energy because more resources are devoted towards heating.
• Energy producers have a high energy use, partly because energy tends to be much cheaper. (See cost of petrol per country)
• The country with the highest energy use per capita is Iceland. A significant part of Iceland’s energy use is thermal energy from naturally occurring volcanic springs. Thus this energy is cheap and does not involve burning fossil fuels.
• Nevertheless, the huge disparity in energy use primarily reflects different income levels throughout the world.

Energy Use of Major Countries

CO2 emissions per capita

A close correlation between energy use and CO2 emissions per capita.

With the exception of Iceland (which generates its power from renewable, natural resources)

Highest Energy Users per Capita

Technical note on definition of energy use

Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

These figures come from World Bank data series 2009. This is data up to 2011, but this is much more patchy.