World: Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, World's fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) fell 0.34 percentage points on 2023 (from 80.4% to 80.06%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below 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 2.83 percentage points in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.1 percentage points in 1971. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.23 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 94% 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 79.31% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.24%, against 0.41% 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.

What this measures

Fossil fuel comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

Limitations: The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts. The IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes, and energy statistics undergo continual changes in coverage or methodology as more detailed energy accounts become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable.

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

All 65 values

Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 0% (2024)
• Bahrain — 0% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 0% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0% (2024)
• Iraq — 0% (2024)
• Israel — 0% (2024)
• Jordan — 0% (2024)
• Kuwait — 0% (2024)
• Lebanon — 0% (2024)
• Libya — 0% (2024)

More environment data for World

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 16.16% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 25.29% (2025)
• Rural population — 3.46 billion (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 42.17% (2025)
• Urban population — 4.75 billion (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 57.83% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 141.41 million (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 94.4 million (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 235.81 million (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is World's fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total)?

80.06% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 14.08 percentage points from 94.13% in 1960. The highest value was 94.64% in 1969 and the lowest 78.72% in 1987.

Is the latest change in fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) unusual for World?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EG.USE.COMM.FO.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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