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Solar power generation by country

Germany led, then China took off: the countries generating the most solar electricity.

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What the data shows

  • In 2024, China ranks #1 with 839 TWh, ahead of United States (304 TWh) and India (143 TWh).
  • Back in 2005, Japan was #1 with 2 TWh.
  • The top spot changed hands twice: Germany in 2007 and China in 2016.
  • Biggest climber: India, from #9 in 2011 to #3 in 2024.
  • China and India weren't on the board in 2005 but are in the top 5 by 2024.

About this chart

Germany's feed-in tariffs made it the world's solar leader in the 2000s. Then panel prices collapsed, and China now installs more new solar each year than the rest of the world combined.

A terawatt-hour (TWh) is a billion kilowatt-hours, roughly a year of electricity for 100,000 US homes.

The data

Source: Ember and Energy Institute via Our World in Data (owid/energy-data), electricity from solar, terawatt-hours. Retrieved November 3, 2026.

Solar power by country, Electricity from solar, TWh per year, 2005–2024
Date🇨🇳 China🇺🇸 United States🇮🇳 India🇯🇵 Japan🇩🇪 Germany🇧🇷 Brazil🇪🇸 Spain🇦🇺 Australia🇮🇹 Italy🇰🇷 South Korea🇫🇷 France🇬🇧 United Kingdom
20050 TWh1 TWh0 TWh2 TWh1 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh
20060 TWh1 TWh0 TWh2 TWh2 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh
20070 TWh1 TWh0 TWh2 TWh3 TWh0 TWh1 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh
20080 TWh1 TWh0 TWh3 TWh5 TWh0 TWh3 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh0 TWh
20090 TWh1 TWh0 TWh3 TWh7 TWh0 TWh6 TWh0 TWh1 TWh1 TWh0 TWh0 TWh
20101 TWh1 TWh0 TWh4 TWh12 TWh0 TWh7 TWh1 TWh2 TWh1 TWh1 TWh0 TWh
20113 TWh2 TWh1 TWh5 TWh20 TWh0 TWh9 TWh2 TWh11 TWh1 TWh2 TWh0 TWh
20124 TWh4 TWh2 TWh7 TWh27 TWh0 TWh12 TWh2 TWh19 TWh1 TWh4 TWh1 TWh
20138 TWh9 TWh3 TWh13 TWh31 TWh0 TWh13 TWh4 TWh22 TWh2 TWh5 TWh2 TWh
201424 TWh29 TWh5 TWh24 TWh35 TWh0 TWh14 TWh5 TWh22 TWh3 TWh6 TWh4 TWh
201539 TWh39 TWh7 TWh35 TWh38 TWh0 TWh14 TWh6 TWh23 TWh4 TWh8 TWh8 TWh
201667 TWh55 TWh12 TWh43 TWh38 TWh0 TWh14 TWh7 TWh22 TWh6 TWh9 TWh10 TWh
2017118 TWh77 TWh22 TWh54 TWh39 TWh1 TWh14 TWh9 TWh24 TWh8 TWh9 TWh11 TWh
2018177 TWh93 TWh37 TWh61 TWh44 TWh3 TWh13 TWh12 TWh23 TWh10 TWh11 TWh13 TWh
2019224 TWh107 TWh37 TWh67 TWh45 TWh7 TWh15 TWh18 TWh24 TWh14 TWh12 TWh12 TWh
2020261 TWh131 TWh53 TWh76 TWh50 TWh11 TWh21 TWh24 TWh25 TWh19 TWh13 TWh13 TWh
2021327 TWh164 TWh66 TWh84 TWh49 TWh17 TWh27 TWh31 TWh25 TWh25 TWh15 TWh12 TWh
2022427 TWh205 TWh96 TWh91 TWh60 TWh30 TWh36 TWh38 TWh28 TWh31 TWh19 TWh13 TWh
2023584 TWh239 TWh115 TWh96 TWh64 TWh51 TWh49 TWh45 TWh31 TWh33 TWh23 TWh14 TWh
2024839 TWh304 TWh143 TWh97 TWh74 TWh71 TWh58 TWh50 TWh36 TWh33 TWh25 TWh15 TWh

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Frequently asked questions

Which country generates the most solar power?

In 2024, China ranks #1 with 839 TWh, followed by United States (304 TWh) and India (143 TWh). Source: Ember and Energy Institute via Our World in Data (owid/energy-data), electricity from solar, terawatt-hours.

Where does this data come from?

Ember and Energy Institute via Our World in Data (owid/energy-data), electricity from solar, terawatt-hours. Retrieved November 3, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

Can I turn this chart into a video?

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