Iceland, Qatar and Singapore consume far more energy per person than most countries, but the picture changes sharply when the world’s most populous nations are considered. According to the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2026, India used about 27 gigajoules (GJ) of energy per person in 2025, compared with 270.2 GJ in the United States.
That means the average US resident was associated with roughly 10 times as much energy supply per person as the average Indian.
Iceland leads the world at 744.9 GJ per person
Iceland topped the 2025 ranking with 744.9 GJ per person.
Its unusually high figure does not simply reflect household electricity use. Iceland has abundant hydropower and geothermal resources, while energy-intensive industries such as aluminum production also contribute substantially to its overall energy supply.
The country’s small population makes its per-person figure particularly sensitive to large industrial operations.
Qatar follows at 717.3 GJ
Qatar ranked second with 717.3 GJ per person.
The country’s enormous natural-gas industry plays a major role in its energy profile. Qatar is one of the world’s leading LNG exporters, meaning its energy system supports not only domestic consumption but also large-scale industrial activity connected to gas production and liquefaction.
Singapore is at 627.8 GJ per person
Singapore ranked third at 627.8 GJ per person.
That number may seem surprising for a compact city-state, but its energy demand is closely tied to its role as a major industrial and refining hub. Singapore has large oil-refining and petrochemical operations despite having a relatively small population.
The UAE, Kuwait and Trinidad and Tobago also rank highly
The next positions are dominated by countries with energy-intensive industries and relatively small populations:
| Rank | Country | Energy supply per person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 744.9 GJ |
| 2 | Qatar | 717.3 GJ |
| 3 | Singapore | 627.8 GJ |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates | 463.2 GJ |
| 5 | Kuwait | 377.5 GJ |
| 6 | Trinidad & Tobago | 358.2 GJ |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | 347.9 GJ |
| 8 | — | — |
| 9 | — | — |
| 10 | United States | 270.2 GJ |
Where does the United States stand?
The United States ranked 10th, with 270.2 GJ per person, according to the supplied figures.
Canada was even higher at 300.4 GJ per person.
Several factors help explain North America’s relatively high energy use, including large geographic distances, extensive road transportation, heating and cooling requirements, and energy-intensive industries.
But per-capita energy supply should not be interpreted simply as “how much electricity people use.” The metric captures the energy supplied to an economy across multiple sectors, including transportation, industry and buildings.
India uses just 27 GJ per person
India’s position is dramatically different.
The country recorded 27 GJ per person in 2025, putting it outside the world’s top 40 countries on a per-capita basis.
Compared with the US figure of 270.2 GJ, India’s per-person energy supply was approximately one-tenth as high.
That gap is striking, but it needs context.
India has a population of more than 1.4 billion people, so relatively low energy use per person can coexist with enormous total energy demand. A country can therefore be among the world’s largest energy consumers overall while remaining relatively low on a per-person ranking.
Why is India’s per-capita figure so much lower?
The difference reflects several structural factors.
- Income levels: Average energy consumption tends to rise as households become wealthier and gain access to more appliances, vehicles and energy-intensive services.
- Industrial structure: India’s energy-intensive industrial base is large, but its energy use is distributed across an enormous population.
- Transportation: Per-person vehicle ownership and travel demand remain lower than in many high-income economies.
- Household energy access: Access to modern energy has expanded substantially, but consumption levels still vary considerably across India’s population.
- Climate and infrastructure: Energy demand for heating and cooling depends heavily on local climate, building design and access to appliances.
India’s low per-capita figure should therefore not be read as evidence that the country has little energy demand. It reflects the denominator: a very large population sharing the country’s total energy supply.
Why per-capita energy rankings can be misleading
A per-person ranking answers a specific question: How much energy supply is associated with each person?
It does not necessarily answer the following:
- Which country consumes the most energy overall?
- Which population has the highest household electricity use?
- Which country has the largest carbon footprint?
- Which economy uses energy most efficiently?
For example, a small country with a large refinery or LNG facility can rank extremely high per person because industrial energy supply is divided among relatively few residents.
This is why Iceland, Qatar and Singapore can sit near the top while India remains far down the table.
The bigger story is the gap between energy access and energy intensity
The ranking ultimately highlights a much larger global divide.
Countries at the top tend to combine one or more of the following:
- High incomes
- Energy-intensive industries
- Large oil and gas sectors
- Heavy transportation demand
- Small populations
- High electricity and fuel consumption
India sits at a very different point in the energy transition. Its total energy requirements are enormous because of its population and expanding economy, yet its energy supply per person remains a fraction of that of wealthy economies.
That distinction will become increasingly important as India’s economy grows. If incomes, industrial output, vehicle ownership and electricity demand increase, the country’s total energy requirements are likely to rise even if its per-capita consumption remains well below that of the United States.
The takeaway
The headline number is simple: India’s 27 GJ of energy supply per person is roughly one-tenth of the US figure of 270.2 GJ.
But the ranking tells a more complicated story than simply “who uses the most energy.” Small, industrialised economies and major energy producers dominate the top of the per-capita table, while population giants such as India can have enormous total energy needs despite relatively low consumption per person.
For understanding global energy demand, both numbers matter: total consumption tells you about a country’s scale, while per-capita consumption reveals how intensely energy is used across its population.
