Energy
Mapped: Solar and Wind Power by Country
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Mapped: Solar and Wind Power by Country
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Wind and solar generate over a tenth of the world’s electricity. Taken together, they are the fourth-largest source of electricity, behind coal, gas, and hydro.
This infographic based on data from Ember shows the rise of electricity from these two clean sources over the last decade.
Europe Leads in Wind and Solar
Wind and solar generated 10.3% of global electricity for the first time in 2021, rising from 9.3% in 2020, and doubling their share compared to 2015 when the Paris Climate Agreement was signed.
In fact, 50 countries (26%) generated over a tenth of their electricity from wind and solar in 2021, with seven countries hitting this landmark for the first time: China, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Argentina, Hungary, and El Salvador.
Denmark and Uruguay achieved 52% and 47% respectively, leading the way in technology for high renewable grid integration.
Rank | Top Countries | Solar/Wind Power Share |
---|---|---|
#1 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 51.9% |
#2 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 46.7% |
#3 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 43.4% |
#4 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 36.9% |
#5 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 32.9% |
#6 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 32.9% |
#7 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 31.5% |
#8 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 28.8% |
#9 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 28.7% |
#10 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 25.2% |
From a regional perspective, Europe leads with nine of the top 10 countries. On the flipside, the Middle East and Africa have the fewest countries reaching the 10% threshold.
Further Renewables Growth Needed to meet Global Climate Goals
The electricity sector was the highest greenhouse gas emitting sector in 2020.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the sector needs to hit net zero globally by 2040 to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees. And to hit that goal, wind and solar power need to grow at nearly a 20% clip each year to 2030.
Despite the record rise in renewables, solar and wind electricity generation growth currently doesn’t meet the required marks to reach the Paris Agreement’s goals.
In fact, when the world faced an unprecedented surge in electricity demand in 2021, only 29% of the global rise in electricity demand was met with solar and wind.
Transition Underway
Even as emissions from the electricity sector are at an all-time high, there are signs that the global electricity transition is underway.
Governments like the U.S., Germany, UK, and Canada are planning to increase their share of clean electricity within the next decade and a half. Investments are also coming from the private sector, with companies like Amazon and Apple extending their positions on renewable energy to become some of the biggest buyers overall.
More wind and solar are being added to grids than ever, with renewables expected to provide the majority of clean electricity needed to phase out fossil fuels.
Energy
Which Countries Produce the Most Natural Gas?
Natural gas prices have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This visualization highlights the world’s largest natural gas producers.

Which Countries Produce the Most Natural Gas?
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
Natural gas prices have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, exacerbating an already tight supply situation.
Making matters worse, Moscow has since cut gas exports to Europe to multi-year lows, sending Europe’s gas price to almost 10 times its pre-war average.
Using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy, the above infographic provides further context on the gas market by visualizing the world’s largest gas producers in 2021.
Natural Gas Consumption at All-Time High in 2021
Natural gas is part of nearly every aspect of our daily lives. It is used for heating, cooking, electricity generation, as fuel for motor vehicles, in fertilizers, and in the manufacture of plastics.
The fuel is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas and non-renewable fossil fuel that forms below the Earth’s surface. Although the Earth has enormous quantities of natural gas, much of it is in areas far from where the fuel is needed. To facilitate transport and reduce volume, natural gas is frequently converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG), in a process called liquefaction.
Despite global efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, natural gas consumption reached a new all-time high in 2021, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 by 3.3%.
Demand is expected to decline slightly in 2022 and remain subdued up to 2025, according to the International Energy Agency.
Region | 2021 Demand in Billion Cubic Meters (bcm) | 2022P (bcm) | 2025P (bcm) |
---|---|---|---|
Africa | 169 | 172 | 188 |
Asia Pacific | 895 | 907 | 990 |
Central and South America | 153 | 147 | 153 |
Eurasia | 634 | 619 | 632 |
Europe | 604 | 549 | 536 |
Middle East | 564 | 582 | 627 |
North America | 1,084 | 1,108 | 1,116 |
World | 4,103 | 4,083 | 4,243 |
The Asia Pacific region and the industrial sector are expected to be the main drivers of global gas consumption in the coming years
Natural Gas Production, by Country
The world’s top 10 producers of natural gas account for about 73% of total production.
Rank | Country | 2021 Production (bcm) | Share % |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇺🇸 United States | 934.2 | 23.1% |
#2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 701.7 | 17.4% |
#3 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 256.7 | 6.4% |
#4 | 🇨🇳 China | 209.2 | 5.2% |
#5 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 177.0 | 4.4% |
#6 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 172.3 | 4.3% |
#7 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 147.2 | 3.6% |
#8 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 117.3 | 2.9% |
#9 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 114.3 | 2.8% |
#10 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 100.8 | 2.5% |
#12 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | 79.3 | 2.0% |
#13 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 74.2 | 1.8% |
#14 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 67.8 | 1.7% |
#15 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 59.3 | 1.5% |
#16 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 57.0 | 1.4% |
#17 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 50.9 | 1.3% |
#18 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 45.9 | 1.1% |
🌐 Rest of the World | 671.8 | 16.6% | |
🌐 Global Total | 4,036.9 | 100.0% |
Natural gas accounts for 32% of primary energy consumption in the United States, the world’s largest producer. Russia is the second biggest producer, and also has at least 37 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, the most in the world.
China’s natural gas production grew by 7.8% in 2021, and it has nearly doubled since 2011. This sustained growth in production is partly down to government policies incentivizing coal-to-gas switching.
Europe’s Natural Gas Crisis
Russia has significantly reduced flows of natural gas to Europe since Western nations imposed sanctions on the Kremlin following the invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, the European Union (EU) imported about 40% of its natural gas from Russia.
The gas is transported by the Nord Stream system, a pair of offshore natural gas pipeline networks in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
Russian energy giant Gazprom recently halved the amount of natural gas flowing through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of capacity, blaming Western sanctions for a delay in the delivery in a necessary turbine. EU officials say Russia is “weaponizing” its gas supply.
Amid tensions, the EU bloc outlined a plan to phase out dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Lithuania ceased Russian gas imports at the beginning of April. Estonia’s and Latvia’s imports also dropped to zero at the start of that month. Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Poland all announced that they do not intend to renew long-term contracts with Gazprom.
Despite these efforts, Europe remains dependent on Russia for its supply of natural gas, at least in the short and medium term.
Energy
Visualizing the World’s Largest Oil Producers
Global oil production averaged 89.8 million barrels of oil per day in 2021. Here are the world’s largest oil producers.

The World’s Largest Oil Producers
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
The world is in the middle of the first energy crisis of the 21st century.
High energy prices, especially for oil, gas, and coal, are driving decades-high inflation in various countries, some of which are also experiencing energy shortages. Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the crisis, given that the country is both a major producer and exporter of oil and natural gas.
Using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy, the above infographic provides further context on the crisis by visualizing the world’s largest oil producers in 2021.
Oil Production: OPEC Countries vs. Rest of the World
Before looking at country-level data, it’s worth seeing the amount of oil the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces compared to other organizations and regions.
Region/Organization | 2021 Oil Production (barrels per day) | % of Total |
---|---|---|
OPEC | 31.7M | 35% |
North America | 23.9M | 27% |
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) | 13.8M | 15% |
Rest of the World | 20.5M | 23% |
Total | 89.9M | 100% |
The OPEC countries are the largest oil producers collectively, with Saudi Arabia alone making up one-third of OPEC production. It’s also important to note that OPEC production remains below pre-pandemic levels after the organization reduced its output by an unprecedented 10 million barrels per day (B/D) in 2020.
Following the OPEC countries, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico accounted for just over a quarter of global oil production in 2021. Nearly 70% of North American oil production came from the U.S., the world’s largest oil producer.
Similarly, within the CIS—an organization of post-Soviet Union countries—Russia was by far the largest producer, accounting for 80% of total CIS production.
The Largest Oil Producers in 2021
Roughly 43% of the world’s oil production came from just three countries in 2021—the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Together, these three countries produced more oil than the rest of the top 10 combined.
Country | 2021 Oil Production (barrels per day) | % of Total |
---|---|---|
U.S. 🇺🇸 | 16.6M | 18.5% |
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 | 11M | 12.2% |
Russian Federation 🇷🇺 | 10.9M | 12.2% |
Canada 🇨🇦 | 5.4M | 6.0% |
Iraq 🇮🇶 | 4.1M | 4.6% |
China 🇨🇳 | 4.0M | 4.4% |
United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪 | 3.7M | 4.1% |
Iran 🇮🇷 | 3.6M | 4.0% |
Brazil 🇧🇷 | 3.0M | 3.3% |
Kuwait 🇰🇼 | 2.7M | 3.0% |
Norway 🇳🇴 | 2.0M | 2.3% |
Mexico 🇲🇽 | 1.9M | 2.1% |
Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 | 1.8M | 2.0% |
Qatar 🇶🇦 | 1.7M | 1.9% |
Nigeria 🇳🇬 | 1.6M | 1.8% |
Algeria 🇩🇿 | 1.4M | 1.5% |
Libya 🇱🇾 | 1.3M | 1.4% |
Angola 🇦🇴 | 1.2M | 1.3% |
Oman 🇴🇲 | 0.97M | 1.1% |
United Kingdom 🇬🇧 | 0.87M | 1.0% |
India 🇮🇳 | 0.75M | 0.8% |
Colombia 🇨🇴 | 0.74M | 0.8% |
Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 | 0.72M | 0.8% |
Indonesia 🇮🇩 | 0.69M | 0.8% |
Venezuela 🇻🇪 | 0.65M | 0.7% |
Argentina 🇦🇷 | 0.63M | 0.7% |
Egypt 🇪🇬 | 0.60M | 0.7% |
Malaysia 🇲🇾 | 0.57M | 0.6% |
Ecuador 🇪🇨 | 0.47M | 0.5% |
Australia 🇦🇺 | 0.44M | 0.5% |
Thailand 🇹🇭 | 0.39M | 0.4% |
Republic of Congo 🇨🇬 | 0.27M | 0.3% |
Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 | 0.25M | 0.3% |
Vietnam 🇻🇳 | 0.19M | 0.2% |
Gabon 🇬🇦 | 0.18M | 0.2% |
South Sudan 🇸🇩 | 0.15M | 0.2% |
Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇳 | 0.14M | 0.2% |
Peru 🇵🇪 | 0.13M | 0.1% |
Chad 🇹🇩 | 0.12M | 0.1% |
Brunei 🇧🇳 | 0.10M | 0.1% |
Italy 🇮🇹 | 0.10M | 0.1% |
Syria 🇸🇾 | 0.10M | 0.1% |
Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹 | 0.08M | 0.1% |
Romania 🇷🇴 | 0.07M | 0.1% |
Yemen 🇾🇪 | 0.07M | 0.1% |
Denmark 🇩🇰 | 0.07M | 0.1% |
Sudan 🇸🇩 | 0.06M | 0.1% |
Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 | 0.06M | 0.1% |
Tunisia 🇹🇳 | 0.05M | 0.1% |
Rest of the World 🌍 | 1.2M | 1.4% |
Total | 89.9M | 100.0% |
Over the last few decades, U.S. oil production has been on a rollercoaster of troughs and peaks. After falling from its 1970 peak of 11.3 million B/D, it reached a historic low of 6.8 million B/D in 2008. However, following a turnaround in the 2010s, the country has since surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest oil producer. As of 2021, though, the U.S. remained a net importer of crude oil while exporting refined petroleum products.
Saudi Arabia and Russia each produced roughly 11 million B/D in 2021 and were the two largest oil exporters globally. In both countries, state-owned oil firms (Saudi Aramco and Gazprom, respectively) were the most valuable oil and gas producing companies.
From Europe (excluding Russia), only Norway made the top 15 oil producers, accounting for 2.3% of global production. The lack of regional output partly explains the European Union’s dependence on Russian oil and gas, worsening the region’s energy crisis.
How the Energy Crisis is Affecting Oil Production
After a deep dive in 2020, oil demand is resurfacing and is now above pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, supply constraints due to sanctions on Russian oil and gas tighten the market and support high oil prices.
While the impact has been felt globally, European countries have been hit hard due to their reliance on Russia’s fossil fuel exports, with some getting almost all of their energy fuels from Russia.
To combat the oil crunch, the rest of the world is ramping up oil supply through increased production or releasing strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs). U.S. oil production is expected to rise by 1 million B/D in 2022 to a record-high. Simultaneously, Western nations are calling on OPEC members to increase their output to ease prices. However, OPEC nations are sticking to their planned production hikes, with output still below early 2020 levels.
“We had a good discussion on ensuring global energy security and adequate oil supplies to support global economic growth. And that will begin shortly.”– U.S. President Joe Biden on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia
The U.S. is releasing 180 million barrels of oil from its SPR, of which 60 million barrels will contribute to the IEA’s collective release of 120 million barrels. But with oil demand expected to reach a new all-time high in 2023, it remains to be seen whether these efforts to increase supply will be enough to curb the crunch.
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