Mapped: How Every Major Economy Powers Its Grid in 2024

The global split

In 2024 the world generated 30.9 PWh of electricity. Fossil fuels still account for 59.1% of that total — coal alone delivers 34.3%, more than hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind combined. Yet the picture varies wildly by country: Norway and Sweden exceed 98% low-carbon generation, while India and South Africa remain above 75% fossil.

The interactive chart above compares 21 major economies plus the world aggregate. Filter by region, sort by total generation or coal share, and inspect source-by-source breakdowns for each grid.

Coal's last strongholds

Coal remains the dominant fuel in China (58%), India (75%), Indonesia (61%), Poland (54%), and South Africa (82%). China alone produced 10.1 PWh in 2024 — roughly one-third of global output — and still relies on coal for nearly three-fifths of its mix despite record solar and wind installations.

The US has moved faster: coal fell to 14.9% of American generation in 2024, displaced by 42.5% gas and rising wind and solar. The UK is effectively off coal (0.8%), leaning on 30% wind, 30% gas, and 14.5% nuclear.

Gas, hydro, and nuclear anchors

Natural gas is the backbone of several large grids:

• Mexico: 60.8% gascheap US pipeline imports and peaker plants
• Russia: 44.4% gasdomestic reserves feed both export and home demand
• Saudi Arabia: 63.3% gas plus 34.5% oilalmost entirely fossil
• United States: 42.5% gasthe shale revolution reshaped the fuel mix this century

Hydro defines Brazil (55.7%), Canada (55.3%), Norway (88.7%), and Vietnam (31.3%). Nuclear anchors France (68%) and South Korea (30.3%), while Germany exited nuclear entirely in 2023 and replaced capacity with 28% wind and 15% solar.

Renewables acceleration

Solar and wind are no longer niche. Germany gets 43% of generation from wind and solar combined. Australia reaches 29.5%. Even China — often framed as a coal story — generated more absolute wind and solar TWh than any other country in 2024 because of scale.

Globally, solar reached 6.9% and wind 8.1% of generation. Add hydro and the low-carbon share crosses 40.9% — a milestone, but still short of what IPCC pathways require for a 1.5°C-aligned power sector by mid-century.

Why the mix matters

Electricity is the lever for decarbonizing transport, buildings, and industry. A grid dominated by coal — as in India or South Africa — means every new EV or heat pump inherits a carbon-intensive upstream fuel. Conversely, France and Sweden offer near-zero-carbon power for electrification.

For investors and policymakers, generation mix signals:

• Energy security: gas-importing Europe vs. resource-rich North America and Middle East
• Transition speed: UK and Germany retiring coal; Asia-Pacific still building coal capacity
• AI and data centers: hyperscale siting decisions increasingly hinge on available clean power and interconnection queues

What to watch in 2025–2026

• China's coal plateau: whether absolute coal TWh peaks as renewable additions accelerate
• India's solar surge: 280 GW target and rising share from 6.5% solar in 2024
• US IRA effects: tax credits pushing solar/wind share above 25% nationally
• European gas displacement: LNG dependence vs. offshore wind build-out in the North Sea
• Nuclear restarts: Japan and South Korea extending reactor lifetimes; SMR pilots in the US

Methodology

Country-level data from Our World in Data (Ember & Energy Institute energy mix dataset), year 2024. Generation totals in terawatt-hours; source shares as percent of national generation. Renewables aggregate includes hydro, solar, wind, and biofuels per OWID definitions. Regions assigned for dashboard grouping. World total is the OWID global aggregate row, not a sum of listed countries.