Top 10 countries producing thermal energy 2025
Thermal electricity still carries the heaviest absolute load in the world’s biggest power systems, even though it is no longer the fastest-growing part of the global mix. For this ranking, 2024 is used as the latest full-year proxy for a 2025 snapshot. Here, thermal electricity means generation from coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear — the heat-based part of the power mix.
That definition matters. Many readers use “thermal” as a fossil-only shortcut, but a heat-based electricity definition also includes nuclear. This is why France belongs in the ranking even though its fossil generation is relatively low. On this basis, China remains far ahead of every other country, followed by the United States and India.
Top 10 countries by thermal electricity generation
The ranking shows both concentration and variety. China and the United States operate at a scale that no other systems currently match. Below them, the top 10 includes coal-led systems, gas-heavy systems, oil-supported systems and one nuclear-heavy outlier that is only an outlier if the term “thermal” is misunderstood.
China dominates on absolute scale. Coal alone accounts for 5,827.6 TWh, while nuclear adds 450.9 TWh and gas contributes 320.7 TWh. It is the clearest example of a system where clean additions are huge, but legacy thermal generation is still enormous.
The US mix is more balanced than China’s. Gas is the main pillar at 1,869.9 TWh, while nuclear contributes 781.9 TWh and coal 652.2 TWh. It remains one of the world’s largest thermal power systems even after years of coal decline.
India’s position reflects rapid electricity demand growth and a power system still anchored in coal. Coal generation reached 1,517.9 TWh, while gas and nuclear remained relatively small support sources.
Russia stands out for a gas-dominant profile. Gas contributed 545.8 TWh, while coal and nuclear were both around 215 TWh. That makes the system less coal-intensive than China or India, but still highly thermal-heavy in total.
Japan remains one of the largest thermal producers because LNG and coal still do most of the work. Gas generated 346.2 TWh, coal 327.1 TWh and nuclear 84.9 TWh as reactor restarts slowly rebuild the low-carbon thermal base.
South Korea is one of the clearest cases where thermal does not automatically mean fossil-only. Coal, gas and nuclear are all large, with coal at 190.8 TWh, nuclear at 188.8 TWh and gas at 178.4 TWh.
Saudi Arabia’s power mix is almost entirely thermal. Gas leads at 288.0 TWh, but oil still contributes 156.8 TWh. In percentage terms, it is one of the most thermal-dependent systems in the top group.
France enters this ranking because nuclear is thermal generation. Nuclear alone supplied 380.5 TWh in 2024, while coal, gas and oil were marginal. On a fossil-only definition France would fall sharply; on a heat-based definition, it clearly belongs near the top.
Iran’s electricity system is overwhelmingly thermal and overwhelmingly gas-based. Gas reached 340.0 TWh, oil added 26.6 TWh and nuclear remained small.
Indonesia rounds out the top 10 with a coal-led system. Coal generated 228.4 TWh and gas 68.8 TWh. It is a reminder that the thermal story is not limited to OECD economies or major exporters.
Table 1. Top 10 countries by thermal electricity generation
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| Rank | Country | Thermal electricity (TWh) | Annual change and profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 6,688.1 | +1.9% · Coal-led; nuclear also material |
| 2 | United States | 3,334.4 | +1.4% · Gas-led with large nuclear base |
| 3 | India | 1,633.1 | +5.5% · Strong coal dependence |
| 4 | Russia | 990.5 | +2.2% · Gas-heavy, coal and nuclear secondary |
| 5 | Japan | 783.3 | −0.1% · Gas and coal remain dominant |
| 6 | South Korea | 564.7 | +1.1% · Coal, gas and nuclear all large |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | 444.8 | +4.8% · Gas + oil dominated |
| 8 | France | 409.1 | +7.9% · Nuclear-led thermal profile |
| 9 | Iran | 374.7 | +4.9% · Gas overwhelmingly dominant |
| 10 | Indonesia | 304.3 | +6.6% · Coal-led emerging system |
Source base: Our World in Data / Ember country electricity data, interpreted as a 2025 snapshot using full-year 2024 values.
Chart 1. Thermal electricity output by country, Top 10
The main visual story is the scale gap. China alone produces more thermal electricity than the next two countries combined. After the top three, the rest of the top 10 sits in a much tighter band.
- China — 6,688.1 TWh
- United States — 3,334.4 TWh
- India — 1,633.1 TWh
- Russia — 990.5 TWh
- Japan — 783.3 TWh
- South Korea — 564.7 TWh
- Saudi Arabia — 444.8 TWh
- France — 409.1 TWh
- Iran — 374.7 TWh
- Indonesia — 304.3 TWh
Fallback remains visible if Chart.js does not load, so the section never collapses into an empty field.
Methodology
This article uses 2024 as the latest complete proxy year for a 2025 snapshot. That is a deliberate comparability choice. Cross-country electricity datasets do not close the current year at the same speed, and mixing partial 2025 fragments with complete 2024 totals would make the ranking less reliable.
The core calculation is straightforward: thermal electricity = coal electricity + gas electricity + oil electricity + nuclear electricity. This is a heat-based electricity definition, not a fossil-only definition. That distinction matters because it changes the ranking for countries with large nuclear fleets.
Values are shown in terawatt-hours and rounded to one decimal place. Year-over-year change compares 2024 with 2023 using the same country-level definition. Small revisions in power-balance datasets can change lower ranks, but they do not alter the broad structure of this top 10.
The main limitation is semantic as much as statistical: many readers interpret “thermal” as “fossil.” This page does not. It uses the broader heat-based definition because it is internally consistent and better reflects how electricity generation technologies are grouped in harmonised datasets.
Insights and takeaways
The ranking shows three thermal worlds operating at the same time. The first is the coal-scale world, where China, India and Indonesia still depend heavily on coal to serve large and growing electricity demand. The second is the gas-system world, visible in the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, where gas does most of the heavy lifting and oil sometimes remains a significant balancing source. The third is the nuclear thermal world, where France and, to a lesser extent, South Korea remain high in the table because nuclear is also heat-based electricity.
Another key takeaway is that absolute volume and transition direction are not the same thing. A country can add large volumes of solar, wind or hydro and still remain very high in thermal generation simply because the whole power system is huge. China is the clearest example. The United States is another: coal has fallen substantially over time, but gas plus nuclear still leave the country with one of the largest thermal totals in the world.
France is the best stress test for the methodology. If thermal means fossil, France looks misplaced. If thermal means electricity produced from heat, France clearly belongs. The ranking becomes more useful once the definition is stated openly instead of being left for the reader to guess.
What this means for the reader
For investors and industrial readers, this ranking is a reminder that power-system transition is not a straight line. Very large thermal systems do not disappear because one technology posts a record year. Countries with big thermal bases still need fuel logistics, balancing capacity, reserve margins, grid reinforcement and dispatchable backup.
For business users, the ranking helps explain why electricity prices, industrial competitiveness and supply-security debates differ across countries. A gas-heavy system reacts differently to fuel-market stress than a coal-heavy system, while a nuclear-heavy system faces a different mix of maintenance, outage and regulatory constraints.
For general readers, the practical lesson is simple: when you see claims that a country is already “post-fossil” or that thermal generation is “over,” check the absolute numbers first. In most major economies, thermal electricity still carries a large share of real demand even while the mix is shifting.
FAQ
Why is France in a thermal electricity ranking?
Because this page uses a heat-based electricity definition. Nuclear generation is thermal generation, so a country with a large nuclear fleet remains part of the ranking even if its fossil generation is comparatively low.
Why use 2024 for a 2025 article?
Because 2024 is the latest full year with broadly comparable country electricity totals. Using incomplete 2025 monthly fragments would make the ranking less stable and less comparable.
Does thermal electricity mean the same thing as fossil electricity?
No. Fossil electricity usually means coal, gas and oil. Thermal electricity, as defined here, means coal, gas, oil and nuclear because all four are heat-based generation technologies.
Why is China so far ahead of everyone else?
Because China combines very large electricity demand with a still-massive coal base. Even while cleaner generation grows quickly, the absolute thermal volume remains enormous.
Does a high thermal ranking mean a country is failing the energy transition?
Not automatically. Large and growing power systems can add renewables and nuclear at scale and still rank high in thermal electricity because total electricity demand is also expanding from a huge base.
Why are Germany and Canada not in this top 10?
Because the ranking is based on absolute heat-based electricity output, not on political visibility or public debate. Their total thermal volumes are lower than the countries listed here once coal, gas, oil and nuclear are added on the same basis.
What is the most important number besides TWh?
Thermal share. Absolute TWh shows scale, but thermal share shows how deeply a country still depends on heat-based generation inside its own electricity mix.
Sources
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Our World in Data — Energy
Harmonised country energy and electricity context.
https://ourworldindata.org/energy -
Our World in Data — Electricity mix
Electricity-source context and supporting charts.
https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix -
Ember — Global Electricity Review 2025
Annual power-sector review with latest 2024 coverage.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2025/ -
IEA — Global Energy Review 2025, Electricity
Global 2024 electricity context and change in generation mix.
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/electricity -
IEA — Global Energy Review 2025, Key findings
Cross-check on world electricity demand and energy-growth patterns in 2024.
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025/key-findings
All country figures are rounded for readability. For formal analytical work, use the underlying source datasets and their technical notes.
