United States's energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) was 4.17 in 2022, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 18.71% from 5.13 in 2012 (2.05% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.17 | 2022 |
| Five years earlier | 4.63 | 2017 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.13 | 2012 |
| Highest | 6.72 | 2000 |
| Lowest | 4.17 | 2022 |
| Average since 2013 | 4.63 | 2013–2022 |
| First recorded | 6.72 | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2022, United States' energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) fell 1.7% on 2021 (from 4.24 to 4.17).
Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2021), the average change was −2.2% and a typical year strayed about 1.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly fall was 5.3% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.11 a year. A straight line explains 98% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 3.82 for 2025. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2022 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.04, against 0.28 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2022, United States had the 42nd highest value of the 116 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4.17 | 2022 |
| World | 4.54 | 2021 |
| North America | 4.36 | 2022 |
| High income | 3.47 | 2022 |
Closest to United States in the 2022 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 23 values
| Year | Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.17 |
| 2021 | 4.24 |
| 2020 | 4.27 |
| 2019 | 4.51 |
| 2018 | 4.62 |
| 2017 | 4.63 |
| 2016 | 4.75 |
| 2015 | 4.88 |
| 2014 | 5.07 |
| 2013 | 5.12 |
| 2012 |
Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP) in nearby economies
More environment data for United States
- Population in largest city — 19.15 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 6.99% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 160.79 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 47.04% (2025)
- Rural population — 67.7 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 19.81% (2025)
- Urban population — 274.09 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 80.19% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 467,617 (2024)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is United States's energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2021 PPP GDP)?
- 4.17 in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
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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