Top 50 Countries That Use the Most Solar Power as a Percentage of Their Total Consumption
Solar power is the fastest-growing renewable energy source in the world. But what country uses the most solar power? The leader in solar energy is China, at 306,973 MW total solar capacity, but that’s due to its colossal size; solar power accounts for only around 3.5% of total energy consumption. A more comprehensive way to rank countries by solar energy use is to examine the percentage of total power as well as the per-capita rate. Data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 and the International Energy Agency’s solar energy statistics reveal the countries that are at the forefront of global solar power capacity and renewable energy as a whole in this visualization from Solar Power Guide.
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What Are the Top Countries That Use the Most Solar Power?
Which country uses the most solar energy as a percentage of total energy consumption? Examining the solar energy percentage by country in this way highlights how even if a country is not abundantly sunny (Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, etc.), it is still possible for solar energy to be a major contributor to overall electricity needs.
- Cook Islands: 25%
- Yemen: 15.38%
- Vanuatu: 14.29%
- Chile: 12.08%
- Australia: 11.66%
- Jordan: 11.65%
- Hungary: 10.59%
- Vietnam: 10.53%
- Honduras: 10.25%
- Spain: 9.85%
- Luxembourg: 9.60%
- Netherlands: 9.40%
- Cyprus: 9.28%
- Greece: 9.26%
- Italy: 8.73%
- El Salvador: 8.65%
- Malta: 8.54%
- Japan: 8.46%
- Reunion: 8.45%
- Germany: 8.38%
What Country Uses the Most Solar Power per Capita?
Here are the top ten countries ranked by per-capita energy consumption from solar generation:
- Australia: 3,165 kWh
- Japan: 1,791 kWh
- Netherlands: 1,742 kWh
- Israel: 1,615 kWh
- Germany: 1,528 kWh
- Spain: 1,501 kWh
- Chile: 1,443 kWh
- United Arab Emirates: 1,347 kWh
- Greece: 1,304 kWh
- Chile: 1,443 kWh
What Country Uses the Most Solar Energy Overall?
China has the largest solar energy capacity in the world, at 306,973 MW, which is 35.8% of the entire world solar capacity. What is the global capacity of solar electricity? According to PV Magazine, the world had installed around 1 TW (terawatt) of solar capacity as of March 2022. How many MW are in a TW? One million megawatts! That may seem like a colossal amount, but world solar energy consumption has only reached around 3.63%. Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource on the planet — 173,000 terawatts of solar energy reaches the surface continuously. Fortunately, solar power growth worldwide has been steady and strong. In 2021, global solar PV generation increased by a record-breaking 22%!
Top 50 Countries That Use the Most Solar Power as a Percentage of Their Total Consumption
| Country | Percentage |
| Cook Islands | 25% |
| Yemen | 15.38% |
| Vanuatu | 14.29% |
| Chile | 12.08% |
| Australia | 11.66% |
| Jordan | 11.65% |
| Hungary | 10.59% |
| Vietnam | 10.53% |
| Honduras | 10.25% |
| Spain | 9.85% |
| Luxembourg | 9.60% |
| Netherlands | 9.40% |
| Cyprus | 9.28% |
| Greece | 9.26% |
| Italy | 8.73% |
| El Salvador | 8.65% |
| Malta | 8.54% |
| Japan | 8.46% |
| Reunion | 8.45% |
| Germany | 8.38% |
| Mauritania | 7.95% |
| Israel | 7.37% |
| Eritrea | 6.82% |
| Senegal | 6.52% |
| Guadeloupe | 6.33% |
| French Polynesia | 6.06% |
| Rwanda | 6.02% |
| Mauritius | 5.47% |
| French Guiana | 5.15% |
| Afghanistan | 5.13% |
| Niger | 5.00% |
| Sierra Leone | 4.76% |
| Namibia | 4.72% |
| Switzerland | 4.63% |
| Portugal | 4.44% |
| Morocco | 4.44% |
| Sri Lanka | 4.37% |
| Benin | 4.35% |
| Barbados | 4.12% |
| Guam | 4.12% |
| Ukraine | 4.07% |
| United Kingdom | 4.00% |
| India | 3.98% |
| Turkey | 3.85% |
| China | 3.83% |
| Denmark | 3.83% |
| United States | 3.75% |
| Estonia | 3.73% |
| United Arab Emirates | 3.69% |
| South Korea | 3.63% |
Top Countries That Added the Most Solar PV Capacity in 2021
- China: 53,009 MW (40.0%)
- United States: 19,647 MW (14.8%)
- India: 10,299 MW (7.8%)
- Brazil: 5,176 MW (3.9%)
- Germany: 4,740 MW (3.6%)
- Japan: 4,427 MW (3.3%)
- Spain: 3,363 MW (2.5%)
- Netherlands: 3,299 MW (2.5%)
- France: 2,687 MW (2.0%)
- Poland: 2,302 MW (1.7%)
- Taiwan: 1,883 MW (1.4%)
- Mexico: 1,877 MW (1.4%)
- Australia: 1,732 MW (1.3%)
- Chile: 1,263 MW (1.0%)
- All others: 16,981 MW (12.8%)
Top Countries by Total Solar PV Capacity in 2021
- China: 306,973 MW (35.8%)
- United States: 95,209 MW (11.1%)
- Japan: 74,191 MW (8.7%)
- Germany: 58,461 MW (6.8%)
- India: 56,951 MW (6.6%)
- Italy: 22,698 MW (2.6%)
- Australia: 19,076 MW (2.2%)
- South Korea: 18,161 MW (2.1%)
- Vietnam: 16,660 MW (1.9%)
- Spain: 15,952 MW (1.9%)
- France: 14,718 MW (1.7%)
- Netherlands: 14,249 MW (1.7%)
- United Kingdom: 13,689 MW (1.6%)
- Brazil: 13,055 MW (1.5%)
- All others: 116,697 MW (13.6%)
Top 25 Countries That Used the Most Solar Energy per Capita in 2021
| 1. Australia | 3,165 kWh |
| 2. Japan | 1,791 kWh |
| 3. Netherlands | 1,742 kWh |
| 4. Israel | 1,615 kWh |
| 5. Germany | 1,528 kWh |
| 6. Spain | 1,501 kWh |
| 7. Chile | 1,443 kWh |
| 8. United Arab Emirates | 1,347 kWh |
| 9. Greece | 1,304 kWh |
| 10. United States | 1,300 kWh |
| 11. Belgium | 1,262 kWh |
| 12. South Korea | 1,113 kWh |
| 13. Italy | 1,087 kWh |
| 14. Hungary | 1,030 kWh |
| 15. Cyprus | 1,020 kWh |
| 16. Luxembourg | 912 kWh |
| 17.Switzerland | 903 kWh |
| 18. Taiwan | 869 kWh |
| 19. Vietnam | 687 kWh |
| 20. Austria | 615 kWh |
| 21. China | 592 kWh |
| 22. France | 584 kWh |
| 23. Denmark | 575 kWh |
| 24. Portugal | 568 kWh |
| 25. Bulgaria | 565 kWh |