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Data extracted in March 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: May 2016.
Table 1: Key energy indicators, 2002 and 2012
(million toe)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Figure 1: Change in gross imports, 2002–12
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Table 2: Production of primary energy (1)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Figure 2: Analysis of primary production by energy type
(excluding heat) (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Table 3: Energy imports and exports (1)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Table 4: Gross inland consumption (1)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Figure 3: Analysis of gross inland consumption by energy type (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Figure 4: Energy dependency, development since 2002 (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (tsdcc310) and the International Energy Agency (Balances)
Figure 5: Energy intensity, development since 2002 (1)
(toe per USD 1 000, international PPP)
Source: OECD (Factbook 2014)
Table 5: Gross electricity generation (1)
Source: Eurostat (ten00087), (nrg_105a) and (demo_gind), the International Energy Agency (Electricity) and the World Bank (World Development Indicators and Health Nutrition and Population Statistics)
Figure 6: Share of renewables and waste in gross electricity generation (1)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ten00087) and (nrg_105a) and the International Energy Agency (Electricity)

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on Eurostat’s publication The EU in the world 2015.

The article focuses on energy statistics in the European Union (EU) and in the 15 non-EU members of the Group of Twenty (G20). It covers key indicators on energy production and consumption and gives an insight into the EU’s energy sector in comparison with the major economies in the rest of the world, such as its counterparts in the so-called Triad — Japan and the United States — and the BRICS composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Main statistical findings

Key figures

Primary production of energy is any extraction of energy products in a useable form from natural sources. This occurs either when natural sources are exploited (for example, in coal mines, crude oil fields, hydro power plants) or in the fabrication of biofuels. Transforming energy from one form into another is generally not primary production. Primary production of energy in the EU-28 totalled 795 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2012 while worldwide production reached 13.46 billion toe in 2012. The members of the G20 accounted for approximately 71 % of the world’s energy production, with Russia, the United States and China recording higher production than the EU-28.

Between 2002 and 2012, global primary production of energy increased by 31 % (see Table 1). China’s primary production doubled during this period, while output in Indonesia increased by 77 % and that of Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India by more than 40 %. Japan’s production fell by 71 %, in large part due to a fall in output from nuclear energy following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The EU-28 had the second largest fall in production (-16 %), reflecting supplies becoming exhausted and/or producers considering the exploitation of limited resources uneconomical.

Gross inland consumption (also known as total primary energy supply), is the total energy demand of a country or region. It represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy inland consumption of the geographical entity under consideration. This covers: consumption by the energy sector itself; distribution and transformation losses; final energy consumption by end users; statistical differences.

The main difference between levels of primary energy production and gross inland consumption is international trade: a shortfall of production needs to be met by positive net imports (the balance of imports minus exports) and a production surplus is generally accompanied by negative net imports. As well as primary production and international trade, gross inland consumption takes into account changes in stocks and the supply of energy to bunkers (for maritime transport for example).

Among the G20 members, the largest net exporters of energy in 2012 were Russia and Saudi Arabia, while net exports from Indonesia, Australia and Canada also exceeded 160 million toe; Mexico and South Africa also recorded smaller net exports. The largest net importer was the EU-28, followed by China, Japan and the United States. Between 2002 and 2012, Argentina moved from being a net exporter of energy to a net importer. During the same period, the United States’ net imports declined, while the net imports of China increased greatly as did those of India, South Korea, the EU-28 and Turkey. The net exports of Mexico and South Africa fell between 2002 and 2012, while there were large increases in the net exports of Russia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, as well as Australia and Canada.

China accounted for one third of the increase in energy imports worldwide between 2002 and 2012

An analysis of the change in (gross) energy imports between 2002 and 2012 (see Figure 1) indicates that only the United States recorded a fall during this period, while Argentina and Saudi Arabia’s relatively high percentage increases reflected quite low levels of imports in 2002. In quantity terms, China’s imports increased by 405 million toe between 2002 and 2012, equivalent to one third (32.8 %) of the increase in energy imports worldwide, and almost double the increase reported for India (204 million toe).

Japan, the EU-28 and the United States were the only G20 members to record lower gross consumption in 2012 than 10 years earlier

Worldwide gross energy consumption was 13.4 billion toe in 2012, of which the G20 members accounted for around four fifths (79 %), significantly higher than their collective share of production. Worldwide gross consumption increased 29 % between 2002 and 2012, with Japan, the EU-28 and the United States the only G20 members to record lower consumption in 2012 than 10 years earlier. China’s gross inland consumption more than doubled (131 %), while Saudi Arabia, India and Turkey also recorded increases in excess of 50 %.

Primary production

The source of energy production in the EU-28 was more varied than in any of the other G20 members

For many of the G20 members the mix of energy sources for primary production in 2012 was dominated by just one type (see Table 2 and Figure 2). In South Africa, Australia and China three quarters or more of primary production came from coal and lignite, while in Turkey and Indonesia coal and lignite’s share was just over half. In Saudi Arabia and Mexico crude oil was dominant, while in South Korea nuclear energy contributed by far the largest share and in Japan (after the suspension of the operation of many nuclear plants) the main source of primary production was renewables and waste. Production in Brazil, India and Turkey was a mixture from renewables and waste as well as one type of fossil fuel, crude oil for Brazil and coal and lignite for India and Turkey. By contrast, Argentina, Canada, Russia and the United States had substantial shares of production spread across two or three types of fossil fuels, with none of them accounting for more than half of their total production. Energy production in the EU-28 was more varied than in any of the other G20 members with only crude oil among the five types of energy sources shown in Table 1 failing to attain at least a 10 % share of total production in 2013, while none of them exceeded 30 %. This variety reflects the availability of different fossil fuel deposits and the potential for hydro power among EU Member States as well as differing policies towards nuclear fuels and renewables.

Renewable energy sources are sources that replenish (or renew) themselves naturally and include biomass and renewable wastes, hydropower, geothermal energy, wind energy, solar energy, wave and tidal power. Non-renewable waste may be industrial or municipal waste.

Energy imports

Crude oil and oil products dominate imports

An analysis of the composition of gross energy imports (see Table 3) shows that crude oil and oil products dominated worldwide (66.6 %) and in most G20 members. These products accounted for more than half of all energy imports in each of the G20 members except for Russia, Argentina and Turkey; gas formed a large part of Argentina and Turkey’s energy imports, while in Russia more than half of all energy imports were coal and lignite.

Energy consumption

Just over three tenths of worldwide gross consumption of energy in 2012 was crude oil and oil products, while coal and lignite accounted for a slightly lower share, and just over one fifth of the total was gas; combined these three fuels accounted for just over four fifths (81.7 %) of global energy consumption (see Table 4). Gross inland consumption was entirely satisfied by such fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia and these three fuels provided more than 90 % of gross inland consumption in Japan, Australia, Russia and Mexico, and close to this level in Argentina, Turkey, China and South Africa (see Figure 3).

South Korea had the highest share of nuclear energy in gross inland consumption, 14.9 %, but this share was considerably lower than for primary production, indicating South Korea’s high dependency on imported fossil fuels, notably crude oil and oil products. The EU-28 had the second highest share of nuclear energy in gross inland consumption (13.6 % in 2013), followed by Canada and the United States (both with 9.8 % shares).

Brazil, Indonesia, India and Canada recorded above average shares for renewables and waste in gross inland consumption

Worldwide, renewables and waste accounted for 13.5 % of gross inland energy consumption. As for primary production, Brazil, Indonesia and India recorded above average shares for renewables and waste in gross inland consumption, as did Canada reflecting its large net exports of fossil fuels. By contrast, the EU-28, Turkey and Japan recorded below average shares of renewables and waste in gross inland energy consumption, despite above average primary production, reflecting their net imports of fossil fuels.

Energy dependency

In Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the EU-28 more than half of gross inland consumption was met by imports

The energy dependency indicator shown in Figure 4 reveals the extent to which gross inland energy consumption was met by net imports — members with a negative value are net exporters. Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the EU-28 all had energy dependency ratios in excess of 50 % in 2012, indicating that more than half of their gross inland energy consumption was met by net imports; lower dependency ratios were recorded for India, the United States, China, Brazil and Argentina. By contrast, Australia’s net exports exceeded its gross inland energy consumption, resulting in an energy dependency ratio that was below -100 %, while Saudi Arabia’s net exports were more than twice as high as its gross inland energy consumption leading to an energy dependency ratio that was below -200 %.

As already noted, between 2002 and 2012 Argentina moved from being a net exporter to being a net importer of energy, as a result of which its dependency ratio moved from negative to positive. During the same period, negative energy dependency ratios increased in Russia, Canada, Australia and Indonesia as their net exports grew more rapidly than their gross consumption, while the negative ratios of South Africa, Mexico and Saudi Arabia decreased, reflecting a fall in net exports (Mexico and South Africa) or net exports growing at a slower pace than gross consumption (Saudi Arabia). The United States’ positive energy dependency ratio fell between 2002 and 2012 as net imports fell faster than gross consumption, while Brazil’s positive ratio fell as net imports grew more slowly than gross consumption. The positive energy dependency ratios for the EU-28 and Japan increased as net imports grew while gross consumption fell, and Turkey, India and China also reported increasing positive ratios as net imports grew faster than gross consumption.

Energy intensity

Energy intensity is an indicator of an economy’s energy efficiency and relates the quantity of energy consumed to the level of economic output, the latter represented by gross domestic product (GDP). In order to facilitate a comparison over time, GDP is shown in constant prices to remove the effects of inflation. To facilitate spatial comparisons GDP is calculated in a common currency (United States dollars are used in Figure 5) using purchasing power parities (PPPs) rather than market exchange rates: PPPs are indicators of price level differences across countries. It should be noted that the economic structure of an economy plays an important role in determining energy intensity, as post-industrial economies with large service sectors tend to have considerably lower energy use than economies characterised by heavy, traditional, industrial activities.

Energy intensity fell or remained stable between 2002 and 2012 in all G20 members

Energy intensity fell between 2002 and 2012 (2011 for some G20 members) for all G20 members for whom data are available (see Figure 5) except for Mexico where the energy intensity ratio remained stable. During this period, substantial energy efficiencies were introduced in the economies of Russia, Indonesia, Japan, India and the United States as their energy intensities fell by more than one fifth. Nevertheless, Russia maintained its position as the most energy intense economy among the G20 members. By contrast, Japan, Turkey and the EU-28 had the lowest energy intensities.

Electricity generation

Gross electricity generation (also known as gross electricity production), is the total amount of electrical energy produced by transforming other forms of energy, for example nuclear or wind power. Total gross electricity generation worldwide was 22.8 million gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2012 (see Table 5), of which 84.1 % was generated by G20 members. In absolute terms, China and the United States had the highest levels of electricity generation among G20 members. A total of 3.3 million GWh of electricity was generated in the EU-28 in 2013.

Nuclear power contributed 26.9 % of the electricity generated in the EU-28

Coal and lignite-fired power stations generated two fifths of electricity worldwide in 2012; this share was boosted by a high use of these fuels in South Africa, China, India and Australia. Gas-fired power stations generated more than one fifth of the world’s electricity with this fuel providing more than half of the electricity generated in Argentina and Mexico and more than two fifths of the total in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. While oil-fired power stations provided just 5.0 % of the world’s electricity, this source was dominant in Saudi Arabia. Nuclear power contributed some 26.9 % of the electricity generated in the EU-28 in 2012, which was more than double the world’s average (10.8 %) and the second highest share among G20 members behind South Korea.

Hydro provided less than half of the EU-28’s electricity from renewables and waste

Hydro-electric power, other renewables and waste supplied 21.5 % of the world’s electricity in 2012, with a somewhat higher share recorded in the EU-28 in 2013 (27.8 %) (see Figure 6). The G20 members with the highest proportion of gross electricity generation from renewables and waste were Brazil (82.5 %) and Canada (63.3 %). Hydro-electricity provided more than half of the electricity generated from renewables and waste in all G20 members except for two: in the EU-28 more electricity was generated from waste and renewables other than hydro (than from hydro power) in 2013; Saudi Arabia had no hydro power and a negligible share of electricity generated from renewables and waste.

Data sources and availability

The statistical data in this article were extracted during March 2015.

The indicators are often compiled according to international — sometimes global — standards. Although most data are based on international concepts and definitions there may be certain discrepancies in the methods used to compile the data.

EU data

Most if not all of the indicators presented for the EU have been drawn from Eurobase, Eurostat’s online database. Eurobase is updated regularly, so there may be differences between data appearing in this article and data that is subsequently downloaded.

G20 members from the rest of the world

For the 15 non-EU G20 members, the data presented have been extracted from a range of international sources, namely the OECD, the International Energy Agency and the World Bank. For some of the indicators shown a range of international statistical sources are available, each with their own policies and practices concerning data management (for example, concerning data validation, correction of errors, estimation of missing data, and frequency of updating). In general, attempts have been made to use only one source for each indicator in order to provide a comparable analysis between the members.

Context

A competitive, reliable and sustainable energy sector is considered essential for all advanced economies. The energy sector has been under the spotlight due to a number of issues that have pushed energy up the political agenda, including the volatility of prices, interruptions to energy supplies, and increased attention to anthropogenic (human-induced) effects of energy use on climate change, in particular, increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Energy statistics - quantities (t_nrg_quant)
Total gross electricity generation (ten00087)
Energy dependence (tsdcc310)

Database

Energy statistics - quantities, annual data (nrg_quant)
Energy statistics - supply, transformation, consumption (nrg_10)
Simplified energy balances - annual data (nrg_100a)
Supply, transformation and consumption of electricity - annual data (nrg_105a)
Population change – Demographic balance and crude rates at national level (demo_gind)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Excel.jpg Energy: tables and figures

External links

  • International Energy Agency (IEA)
  • OECD
  • World Bank
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