Greenland: Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Greenland's electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) fell 2.71 percentage points on 2020 (from 25.67% to 22.96%).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.69 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.91 percentage points in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.64 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 37% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Greenland had the 52nd highest value of the 61 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Greenland in the 2021 ranking

• Burundi — 49th of 61: 38.7%
• Mali — 50th of 61: 37.71%
• Sierra Leone — 51st of 61: 24.72%
• Afghanistan — 53rd of 61: 21.77%
• Malawi — 54th of 61: 19.94%
• Guinea — 55th of 61: 11.87%

What this measures

The share of electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources of total electricity production. Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Oil refers to crude oil and petroleum products. Gas refers to natural gas but excludes natural gas liquids. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average using total electricity production as weights.

All 22 values

Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) in nearby economies

• Albania — 0% (2021)
• Andorra — 6.66% (2021)
• Armenia — 37.47% (2024)
• Austria — 16.5% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 86.46% (2024)
• Belarus — 61.36% (2024)
• Belgium — 24.73% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 61.56% (2024)
• Bulgaria

More environment data for Greenland

• Rural population — 6,494 (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 11.43% (2025)
• Urban population — 50,337 (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 88.57% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 30 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 331,285 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 331,315 (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — -2.21% (2025)
• Urban population growth (annual %) — 0.28% (2025)
• Agricultural land (sq. km) — 2,431 (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Greenland's electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total)?

22.96% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 17.33 percentage points from 5.62% in 2000. The highest value was 68.8% in 2004 and the lowest 5.62% in 2000.

How does Greenland rank?

52nd highest of 61 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) unusual for Greenland?

In 2021, Greenland's electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total) fell 2.71 percentage points on 2020 (from 25.67% to 22.96%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.ELC.FOSL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser, publisher: International Energy Agency (IEA), date accessed: 2025-03-25 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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