Global primary energy consumption reached approximately 595 exajoules (EJ) in 2021, recovering from the brief dip caused by COVID-19 mobility restrictions in 2020. This rebound confirmed that despite growing awareness of the need for an energy transition, global energy demand continues to rise — driven primarily by economic growth in developing economies, expanding industrial activity, and increasing electrification across sectors. Understanding where energy comes from and how it is distributed across countries is a prerequisite for evaluating the pace and ambition of the global transition away from fossil fuels. Our dashboard on energy consumption allows users to explore these trends in depth.
Who consumes the most — and the least
Energy consumption is highly concentrated among a small number of large economies. China alone accounted for approximately 24% of global primary energy consumption in 2021, driven by its massive industrial base and continued economic expansion. The United States followed at roughly 15%, while India, Russia, and Japan each consumed between 4% and 6%. At the other extreme, per capita energy consumption reveals enormous disparities: Qatar leads globally at approximately 550 gigajoules (GJ) per person per year — a figure driven by its energy-intensive petrochemical industry and extreme climate requiring year-round cooling. Argentina, by comparison, consumed roughly 80 GJ per capita, broadly in line with other upper-middle-income countries in Latin America. These gaps illustrate both differing levels of industrialization and structural differences in how economies use energy.
Renewables: growing fast but starting from a low base
The share of renewables (excluding traditional hydropower) in global primary energy consumption reached approximately 13% in 2021, up dramatically from around 2% in 2010. Wind and solar power were the principal drivers of this growth, with their combined installed capacity expanding roughly 50% between 2019 and 2022 alone. However, fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas — still represented approximately 80% of the global energy mix in 2021. This persistence of fossil fuels despite the rapid growth of renewables reflects the challenge of replacing existing infrastructure, the scale of energy demand growth, and the continued economic competitiveness of fossil fuels in many markets. The energy transition is real and accelerating, but the baseline it must overcome is vast.
Argentina's energy matrix: a country at a crossroads
Argentina's own energy matrix presents a distinctive profile. Natural gas dominates at approximately 54% of primary energy supply, reflecting the country's extensive gas infrastructure, subsidized residential tariffs, and the historically abundant reserves of the Neuquén basin. Oil contributes roughly 12%, while renewables including hydropower account for approximately 29% of the total. The Vaca Muerta unconventional formation in Neuquén province represents one of the world's largest shale gas and tight oil reserves, offering Argentina a substantial medium-term energy resource — but also a key strategic choice between monetizing fossil fuel endowments and accelerating the transition to a lower-carbon energy system. Our dashboard on the National Energy Balance documents the composition and evolution of Argentina's energy supply and demand in detail.
The road ahead for the energy transition
The data make clear that decarbonizing the global economy will require not just the rapid scaling of renewable capacity — which is already occurring at an impressive pace — but also a parallel transformation of industrial processes, transport systems, and building energy use. For a country like Argentina, the choices are particularly complex: the country has both significant fossil fuel reserves that could generate export revenue and address energy security concerns, and substantial renewable potential in wind (particularly in Patagonia), solar (in the Northwest), and hydropower. How these resources are developed and balanced against each other over the coming decades will determine Argentina's contribution to global emission trajectories as well as the energy costs faced by Argentine households and industries. Monitoring consumption trends closely remains essential for informed policy debate.
