TOP 10 Countries by Energy Intensity Reduction (2025)
Global efficiency • 2025 snapshot
Top 10 large economies by energy intensity reduction (recent YoY improvement)
Energy intensity is the amount of energy supplied to an economy per unit of GDP. When it falls, an economy produces more value per unit of energy — usually due to a mix of better equipment and buildings, cleaner and more efficient power systems, and shifts toward less energy-intensive activities.
The global target under SDG 7.3 is to double the historic pace of energy efficiency improvement this decade (often framed as ~4% annual improvement). Recent global progress has been weaker: around 1% in 2024, with a preliminary rebound to about 1.8% in 2025, according to the IEA.
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Biggest recent improvers (indicative ranges, large economies)
This is a curated list of large economies that have recently shown strong year-on-year reductions in primary energy intensity in major international series. Values are expressed as approximate annual improvement rates (a percentage reduction in energy used per unit of GDP) and should be read as indicative bands, not a definitive “precision league table”.
China
≈ 3.5% / year (recent)Large-scale efficiency policy, rapid capital turnover in industry, and a growing share of services. China’s policy framework includes an economy-wide energy-intensity reduction target through 2025, alongside sector programmes and upgrades in power and grid infrastructure.
- Industrial retrofit and best-available equipment in key sectors
- Faster electrification and cleaner power generation mix
- Structural shift toward higher-value manufacturing and services
India
≈ 3.5% / year (recent)A mix of demand-side efficiency programmes and a rising services share. Large programmes such as mass LED deployment, appliance standards, and efficiency schemes in large industrial consumers support energy-productivity gains while GDP growth remains strong.
- Lighting and appliance efficiency scale-up (including nationwide LED programmes)
- Grid improvements and reduced technical losses
- Growing services and higher-value manufacturing footprint
Indonesia
≈ 3.0% / year (recent)Progress reflects policy reform and gradual modernisation: improving power generation and end-use efficiency while the economy expands. Energy-pricing reforms and a focus on efficiency in major end-use sectors help decouple output from energy growth.
- Reform momentum around fossil-fuel subsidies and pricing
- Efficiency standards and better energy management in industry
- Transport efficiency improvements and fuel switching
Vietnam
≈ 3.0% / year (recent)Vietnam’s intensity level is still elevated relative to advanced economies, but recent improvements reflect newer industrial stock, better technologies in export manufacturing, and an expanding role of modern power generation.
- Newer plant and equipment in fast-growing manufacturing base
- Efficiency gains in buildings and industrial energy management
- Power-sector modernisation and growing clean generation
Türkiye
≈ 3.0% / year (recent)Türkiye has built multi-year efficiency strategies that target industry, buildings and networks. Combined with renewables growth, these measures support steady intensity improvements even under volatile fuel-import conditions.
- Industrial efficiency upgrades and targeted investment programmes
- Building codes, retrofits, and appliance standards
- Higher share of wind and solar in electricity supply
Mexico
≈ 2.8% / year (recent)Improvements are concentrated in end-use sectors: gradual modernisation in industry and transport, efficiency standards, and shifts in the electricity mix.
- Industry process modernisation and energy management
- Transport fuel-economy improvements and fleet turnover
- Power-sector efficiency gains and cleaner generation
Germany
≈ 2.5% / year (recent)A long-run leader in decoupling: strict product and building standards, efficiency investment, and a high-innovation industrial base. Europe’s 2022–2023 energy shock also strengthened short-term incentives to reduce energy intensity.
- Building retrofits and high efficiency standards
- Industrial efficiency and electrification where feasible
- Rising share of renewables in electricity supply
United Kingdom
≈ 2.5% / year (recent)Long-term intensity decline driven by services growth, reduced coal use, and persistent efficiency standards. Recent gains also reflect stronger price signals and efficiency investment following the energy crisis.
- Services-heavy economy and improved building performance
- Cleaner power generation and higher efficiency generation assets
- Vehicle and appliance standards plus electrification momentum
Japan
≈ 2.0% / year (recent)Japan started from relatively low intensity and continues to improve through tight product standards, industrial process optimisation, and high efficiency in buildings and appliances.
- Strict efficiency standards (appliances, buildings, vehicles)
- Industrial process optimisation and high-quality capital stock
- Electrification and efficiency in end-use equipment
United States
≈ 2.0% / year (recent)Steady improvements from efficiency standards, ongoing technology turnover, and a changing power mix. In 2023 the IEA noted unusually strong intensity gains in the United States relative to many peers.
- Appliance and vehicle efficiency standards + innovation cycle
- Power-sector efficiency and cleaner generation
- Industrial productivity and process upgrades
Table 1. Top 10 large economies by energy intensity reduction (indicative)
Approximate annual improvement = estimated percentage reduction in primary energy intensity (energy supplied per unit of GDP). Numbers are rounded “bands” aligned to international series; interpret as direction and scale.
| Rank | Country | Approx. recent improvement (per year) | Main drivers (summary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | ≈ 3.5% | Industrial upgrades, policy targets, cleaner power, structural shift |
| 2 | India | ≈ 3.5% | Efficiency programmes, services growth, grid improvements |
| 3 | Indonesia | ≈ 3.0% | Pricing reform momentum, industry efficiency, transport upgrades |
| 4 | Vietnam | ≈ 3.0% | Newer industrial stock, energy management, power modernisation |
| 5 | Türkiye | ≈ 3.0% | Multi-year efficiency strategy, buildings/industry upgrades, renewables |
| 6 | Mexico | ≈ 2.8% | Industrial modernisation, transport efficiency, cleaner power |
| 7 | Germany | ≈ 2.5% | Standards, retrofits, industrial efficiency, renewables |
| 8 | United Kingdom | ≈ 2.5% | Services shift, building standards, cleaner power, electrification |
| 9 | Japan | ≈ 2.0% | High efficiency baseline, strict standards, process optimisation |
| 10 | United States | ≈ 2.0% | Standards and innovation, power mix change, industrial improvements |
Figure 1. Approximate annual improvement in primary energy intensity (Top 10)
Bar chart uses mid-points of the indicative bands above. If the chart fails to load, the numeric list below remains visible.
China 3.5% • India 3.5% • Indonesia 3.0% • Vietnam 3.0% • Türkiye 3.0% • Mexico 2.8% • Germany 2.5% • United Kingdom 2.5% • Japan 2.0% • United States 2.0%
Methodology (how the ranking is built)
The underlying metric is primary energy intensity, commonly defined for SDG indicator 7.3.1 as the amount of energy supplied to the economy per unit of GDP measured at purchasing power parity (PPP). In SDG reporting, energy supply is derived from national energy balances, while GDP is expressed in constant PPP dollars for international comparability. The resulting intensity is typically reported in megajoules per PPP dollar.
This page is a 2025 snapshot built from the latest globally comparable time window available in major public series (roughly 2022–2024). “Energy intensity reduction” is interpreted as the year-on-year percentage decrease in primary energy intensity. Because cross-source country coverage and revisions differ, the values here are reported as rounded bands (e.g., 3–4% per year) and visualised using mid-points to communicate scale rather than false precision.
The list is restricted to large economies with substantial total energy demand, to avoid small-economy volatility. Country narratives are grounded in widely used drivers in the literature: (1) technical efficiency (equipment, buildings, vehicles), (2) structural change (sector mix), and (3) power-system efficiency and electrification. Limitations matter: energy intensity is an imperfect proxy for “pure efficiency” because it is also influenced by climate, commodity cycles, and shifts in economic structure.
Why “primary” energy intensity can move fast
When countries electrify end-uses and improve the efficiency of electricity generation and grids, the accounting of “primary” energy per unit of delivered service can improve rapidly. This can accelerate intensity declines even if final energy demand changes more slowly.
Why rankings differ across datasets
Differences in GDP price bases, definitions of primary energy, and revision cycles (energy balances, PPP updates, post-shock backcasts) can shift single-year rates. That is why this resource uses ranges and focuses on the direction and magnitude of improvement.
Insights (what stands behind rapid intensity gains)
Three mechanisms consistently explain outperformance. First, policy depth matters: countries with long-running standards, labelling, industrial audits, and financing tools for upgrades tend to achieve multi-year improvements that compound. Second, economic re-composition can amplify technical progress. When the marginal growth comes from services and high-value manufacturing rather than heavy industry, GDP rises faster than energy supply. Third, power-system and end-use technology change increasingly drives intensity: cleaner and more efficient electricity plus electrified end-uses reduce energy needed per unit of output.
The recent global context also matters. The IEA documents a slowdown in the global rate of energy-intensity improvement in 2024, linked to factors such as investment-heavy recoveries, extreme temperatures, and weaker hydropower output in some regions, while preliminary estimates indicate an improvement in 2025. This backdrop makes sustained 3–4% country-level improvement especially meaningful: it signals not just one-off shocks, but systems that keep delivering efficiency gains while the economy grows.
What this means for readers
Energy intensity is not just an abstract indicator. When it improves steadily, it typically shows up as lower energy costs per unit of production, better resilience to fuel price shocks, and lower emissions intensity of economic activity. For households, it often correlates with better building performance and more efficient appliances; for firms, it affects competitiveness through operating costs; for policymakers, it is one of the fastest levers to cut emissions while supporting growth.
Competitiveness
Lower energy per unit of output can strengthen export competitiveness and reduce exposure to volatile fuel imports.
Affordability
Efficiency reduces the “energy bill” of growth — especially important when electrification raises electricity demand.
Climate and energy security
Efficiency is the fastest near-term tool to cut waste; paired with clean power, it accelerates emissions declines.
FAQ (energy intensity reduction)
Is energy intensity the same as energy efficiency?
No. Energy intensity is a high-level ratio (energy supplied per unit of GDP). It captures efficiency, but also structural shifts (services vs heavy industry), climate effects, and economic cycles.
Why use SDG 7.3.1 and “primary” energy?
SDG 7.3.1 is the globally tracked indicator for energy intensity and uses total energy supply from energy balances. “Primary” matters because it reflects upstream conversion losses and power-sector efficiency.
Can a country improve intensity even if total energy use rises?
Yes. If GDP grows faster than energy supply, intensity falls. Many fast-growing economies still see rising energy demand while improving intensity through upgrades and structural change.
Why did global progress slow in 2024?
International monitoring points to multiple drivers: investment- and manufacturing-heavy recoveries in major economies, weather-driven demand spikes, and weaker hydropower output in some regions that increased reliance on less efficient thermal generation.
What would “on-track” progress look like this decade?
The SDG ambition is commonly framed as roughly 4% annual improvement (doubling historic rates). That requires higher policy ambition, faster retrofits, and quicker deployment of efficient and electrified end-use technologies.
Why are the values shown as rounded bands?
Single-year country rates can vary across sources and revisions. Using indicative ranges reduces false precision and focuses attention on consistent multi-year outperformance.
Global progress vs the SDG efficiency gap
The same indicator can be used at a global level: how fast is energy supplied per unit of GDP falling? IEA synthesis for recent years shows that the world has remained well below the pace associated with being “on track” for the SDG 7.3 ambition (often framed as ~4% per year).
The key takeaway is not that efficiency stopped — it did not — but that the rate slowed after 2019 and fell to around 1% in 2024. Preliminary estimates suggest a rebound to about 1.8% in 2025, still below the doubling target.
| Period | Average annual improvement | Interpretation | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2019 (avg) | ≈ 2.0% / year | Historic baseline for the pre-pandemic decade | Doubling this pace is the SDG ambition |
| 2019–2023 (avg) | ≈ 1.2% / year | Post-2019 slowdown; progress masked by shocks and rebounds | Harder to align growth with climate targets |
| 2024 | ≈ 1.0% | Very weak year compared with the SDG trajectory | More investment needed to avoid “wasted energy” |
| 2025 (preliminary) | ≈ 1.8% | Improvement vs 2024, but still below “doubling” | Shows policy can lift progress if scaled |
2010–2019 avg ≈ 2.0% • 2019–2023 avg ≈ 1.2% • 2024 ≈ 1.0% • 2025 prelim ≈ 1.8%
Note: these global values are summaries from IEA monitoring. They are not a substitute for sector-level efficiency indicators (buildings, industry, transport), which are needed to diagnose what is driving changes in intensity.
How to interpret “fast improvement” correctly
A high improvement rate is positive, but it can come from different mixes. Best-case improvement combines technology upgrades (better motors, boilers, HVAC, vehicles), accelerated electrification (heat pumps, EVs), and cleaner, more efficient power systems. Mixed-case improvement can also reflect cyclical effects: a shift away from energy-intensive output, temporary curtailment, or unusual weather.
That is why this resource pairs the ranking with three guardrails: (1) focus on large economies to avoid small-country volatility, (2) use ranges rather than single-point precision, and (3) emphasise mechanisms — policies, technology turnover, and power-system change — that can plausibly sustain improvement across multiple years.
Interpretation and policy takeaways
A country can improve energy intensity quickly for three broad reasons: it deploys more efficient end-use technologies, shifts its economic structure toward less energy-intensive activities, and/or raises the efficiency and cleanliness of electricity supply while electrifying end-uses. The strongest performance is typically a combination of all three — and it is usually supported by consistent policy, not one-off shocks.
The global monitoring message is clear: the world remains off track for a “doubling” trajectory, even with a preliminary improvement in 2025. Closing the gap requires scaling proven measures: better building envelopes and heat pumps, best-available industrial equipment and energy management, higher vehicle efficiency and electrified transport, and faster grid and power-system upgrades.
Policy takeaways (what works repeatedly)
- Standards and enforcement: minimum performance standards for appliances, buildings, motors, and vehicles create permanent efficiency gains.
- Finance and delivery: credit lines, guarantees, ESCO models, and public procurement accelerate retrofits and industrial upgrades.
- Electrification + clean power: heat pumps, EVs, efficient industrial electrification, and a modern grid amplify primary-energy productivity.
- Data and accountability: energy audits, benchmarking, and transparent monitoring reduce information barriers and improve targeting.
- Affordability design: targeted support and tariff design can protect vulnerable households while maintaining strong efficiency incentives.
Limits (what this ranking does not claim)
- It ranks recent improvement rates, not absolute intensity levels (an economy can improve fast while still being energy-intensive).
- Energy intensity is influenced by climate, structure, and cycles; it is not a pure efficiency measure.
- Cross-source revisions can shift single-year rates; ranges are used to avoid false precision.
Official sources
Below are primary, widely used references for definitions and recent global monitoring of energy intensity and efficiency progress.
Recent global monitoring summary, including the slowdown of energy-intensity improvement to around 1% in 2024 and context on drivers behind the slowdown.
Annual IEA market and policy assessment; includes preliminary global efficiency progress estimates for 2025 and an overview of policy momentum.
Definition, units, computation method, and limitations of SDG 7.3.1 energy intensity (energy supplied per unit of GDP at PPP).
Indicator definition and unit reference for “energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ per PPP $ GDP)”.
Harmonised visual series used as a cross-check for long-run trends and broad comparability across economies.
Policy context for China’s energy-intensity reduction objectives and programme framing through 2025.
Official context on one of India’s large-scale demand-side efficiency programmes (lighting).
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