Lower middle income: Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Lower middle income's energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) fell 0.3% on 2020 (from 4.29 to 4.27).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was −2.1% and a typical year strayed about 1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.2% in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.8% in 2015. 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 0.09 a year. A straight line explains 95% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Energy intensity level of primary energy is the ratio between energy supply and gross domestic product measured at purchasing power parity. Energy intensity is an indication of how much energy is used to produce one unit of economic output. Lower ratio indicates that less energy is used to produce one unit of output.

Limitations: Energy intensity level is only an imperfect proxy to energy efficiency indicator and it can be affected by a number of factors not necessarily linked to pure efficiency such as climate.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 22 values

Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 2.94 (2021)
• Algeria — 5.61 (2021)
• Bahrain — 9.23 (2021)
• Djibouti — 2.03 (2022)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.06 (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 9.32 (2021)
• Iraq — 4.96 (2021)
• Israel — 2.3 (2022)
• Jordan — 3.39 (2021)

More environment data for Lower middle income

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 17.31% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 18.01% (2025)
• Rural population — 1.71 billion (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 57.99% (2025)
• Urban population — 1.24 billion (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 42.01% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 19.78 million (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 19.67 million (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons)

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Questions people ask

What is Lower middle income's energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP)?

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

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 34.92% from 6.56 in 2000 (2.03% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 6.56 in 2000 and the lowest 4.27 in 2021.

Is the latest change in energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) unusual for Lower middle income?

In 2021, Lower middle income's energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) fell 0.3% on 2020 (from 4.29 to 4.27). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was −2.1% and a typical year strayed about 1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.EGY.PRIM.PP.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, International Energy Agency (IEA), note: License: Creative Commons Attribution—NonCommercial 3.0 IGO (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO); International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), note: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report; United Nations (UN), note: Tracking SD… 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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