Global energy consumption has significant regional variations due to differences in industrialization levels, climate conditions, population density, and access to natural resources, as well as varying energy policies and economic activities across countries.
For instance, countries with colder climates may consume more energy for heating, while highly industrialized nations may have higher per capita energy usage due to their extensive manufacturing sectors.
This chart below, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, shows the top 15 countries by energy consumption per capita in 2023, as well as the consumption per capita for each global region.
The figures are represented in gigajoules (GJ) per capita and come from the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 report.
Qatar and Iceland Consume Most Energy Per Capita
Qatar had the highest per capita energy consumption worldwide in 2023 at 817 GJ per person. Almost all of the country’s energy consumption is derived from natural gas, of which the country has abundant reserves.
Countries located in hot or cold climates that are also rich in a particular energy resource, such as Qatar and its natural gas or Iceland and its geothermal energy, made up many of the top per capita energy consumers in 2023.
These countries tend to consume more energy to heat or cool homes and often use more energy since electricity costs are often on the lower end. Along with this, many of the top energy consuming countries per capita have fairly low populations, with Canada and Saudi Arabia being the only nations in the top 10 with populations of more than 10 million.
A Regional Perspective
Looking at global regions, North America unsurprisingly consumes the most energy per person, at 240 GJ per capita, almost three times the global average of 77 GJ.
North America’s numbers are in contrast to regions like Africa, that consumes 14 GJ per capita, or even South and Central America at 58 GJ per capita.
According to the Energy Institute, around 750 million people worldwide, or 1 out of every 10 people do not have access to electricity.