Which countries consume the most energy per capita?
Iceland topped the list of countries with the highest total energy supply per capita in 2025. The country had 745 gigajoules per person, followed by Qatar and Singapore.
Which countries use the most energy per capita?
Visual Capitalist has released a list of the 40 countries with the highest total energy supply per capita for 2025. This information is based on the Energy Institute's 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy.
Total energy supply refers to all energy that enters a country's economy. This includes industry, electricity generation, transportation fuels, and other energy sources. This indicator does not take into account losses in converting energy from one form to another.
Therefore, this ranking reflects the energy demand of the entire economy, not the daily energy consumption of the population or the personal energy consumption of one person.
Iceland took first place in the ranking with 745 gigajoules. Electricity in this country is generated almost entirely by domestic hydroelectric and geothermal sources. Energy-intensive industries such as aluminum production account for a large share of total consumption.
Qatar is in second place with 717 gigajoules, and Singapore is in third place with 628 gigajoules.
Qatar is a major exporter of natural gas, liquefied, and exported. Singapore is one of the world's largest oil refining and petrochemical centers. The relatively small populations of both countries also contribute to the high per capita consumption.
A peculiar trend is observed in the top eight of the ranking. In addition to Iceland and Singapore, the remaining six countries are large oil and gas producers with relatively small populations.
For example, Kuwait had 378 gigajoules of energy per capita, Trinidad and Tobago 358 gigajoules, Saudi Arabia 348 gigajoules, and Oman 315 gigajoules.
Russia ranked 12th in the ranking with an indicator of 216.6 gigajoules.
In China, the total energy supply per capita was 115 gigajoules. This indicator is higher than the 109 gigajoules in Spain.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (90 gigajoules), Italy (94 gigajoules) and Switzerland (98 gigajoules) did not enter the top 40. The lower limit of the ranking falls on Bulgaria, where the energy supply per capita was 104 gigajoules.
The geographical composition of the ranking is also noteworthy: not a single country from Africa or South America entered the top 40. The list consists of countries from Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania.
The authors emphasize that a high indicator does not always mean that the average population consumes more energy. For example, countries like Qatar and Singapore use large amounts of energy to produce and process fuels and products that are consumed in other countries. Therefore, countries with small populations but energy-intensive industries can outperform even large economies in terms of per capita energy consumption.