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World's top consumers of electricity

Last updated on: September 15, 2011 10:36 IST

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Image: Asia and the Middle East are seeing a rise in consumption.
At the world level, electricity consumption fell by 1.5 per cent during 2009, for the first time since World War II.

Except in Asia and the Middle East, consumptions dropped across the world. In OECD countries, accounting for 53 per cent of the total, electricity demand scaled down by more than 4.5 per cent in both Europe and North America, while it shrank by above seven per cent in Japan.

Here is a look at top electricity consuming countries.

Click NEXT to see where India stands...

Image: Energy demand is rising 3.6 per cent per year. A view of Howrah Bridge in Kolkata.

India

Electricity consumption: 568 billion (kWh)

About 65.34 per cent of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants, 21.53 per cent by hydroelectric power plants, 2.70 per cent by nuclear power plants and 10.42 per cent by Renewable Energy Sources.

Click NEXT to see the top consumers...

Image: Share of renewable energy is rising. A view of Los Angeles highway.
1. United States

Electricity consumption: 3,873 billion (kWh)

In 1996, there were 3,195 electric utilities in the United States, of which fewer than a 1,000 were engaged in power generation.

This leaves a large number of mostly smaller utilities engaged only in power distribution.

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Image: Shanghai on the rise.
2. China

Electricity consumption: 3,438 billion (kWh)

China's electric power industry has changed dramatically since the early 1990s to become the world's second-largest electricity consumer, after the United States.

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Image: Amazing Tokyo.

3. Japan

Electricity consumption: 858.5 billion (kWh)

Compared with other nations, electricity in Japan is relatively expensive.

In 2008, the power sources for electric energy were 27 per cent from coal, 26 per cent from gas, 13 per cent from oil, 24 per cent from nuclear power, and eight per cent from hydro power.

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Image: Moscow by the river.
4. Russia

Electricity consumption: 857.6 billion (kWh)

In 2008, electricity as gross production was produced with gas 48 per cent, coal and peat 19 per cent, hydro electricity 16 per cent and nuclear power 16 per cent.

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Image: Berlin on the move.
5. Germany

Electricity consumption: 547.3 billion (kWh)

Germany has defined a phase-out policy of nuclear power by 2022.

The share of nuclear power in generating electricity is falling.


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Image: A view of Calgary.
6. Canada

Electricity consumption: 536.1 billion (kWh)

Canada is the world's second-largest producer of hydroelectricity, which accounted for 58 per cent of all electric generation in 2007.

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Image: French city Lyons.
7. France

Electricity consumption: 447.2 billion (kWh)

The French nuclear power sector is almost entirely owned by the French government and the degree of the government subsidy is difficult to ascertain because of lack of transparencies in the finances of the operation.

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Image: Beautiful Rio de Janeiro.
8. Brazil

Electricity consumption: 404.3 billion (kWh)

Brazil has the largest electricity market in South America, with a power consumption that is more than double the combined consumption of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay.

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Image: Seoul under the lights.
9. South Korea

Electricity consumption: 402 billion (kWh)

South Korea placed a heavy emphasis on nuclear power generation.

The country's first nuclear power plant, the Kori Number One located near Pusan, opened in 1977.

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Image: London calling.
10. The United Kingdom

Electricity consumption: 345.8 billion (kWh)

The use of electricity declined 11 per cent in 2009 compared to 2004 and respectively the renewable energy per cent share of total electricity use increased 2.8 per cent.

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Image: A market in Milan.
11. Italy

Electricity consumption: 315 billion (kWh)

Italy plans to increase renewable electricity to 26 per cent by 2020.

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Image: Madrid square at dawn.
12. Spain 

Electricity consumption: 276.1 billion (kWh)

Spain exported about three per cent of the produced electricity in 2009.

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Image: Perth under the lights.
13. Australia

Electricity consumption: 222 billion (kWh)

In Australia green energy is accredited under the GreenPower scheme whereby all distributors are government audited bi-annually to ensure that customers are getting exactly what is described in their purchased products.

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Image: Modern Taipei.
14. Taiwan

Electricity consumption: 220.8 billion (kWh)

Taiwan Power Company is a state-owned electric power utility providing electric power to Taiwan and off-shore islands of Republic of China.

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Image: Dazzling Johannesburg.
15. South Africa

Electricity consumption: 215.1 billion (kWh)

The margin between national demand and available capacity is still low (particularly in peak hours), and power stations are under strain.

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Image: Iran's capital Teheran.
16. Iran

Electricity consumption: 206.7 billion (kWh)

Iran is in a constant battle to use its energy resources more effectively in the face of subsidisation and the need for technological advances in energy exploration and production.

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Image: Lovely Istanbul.
17. Turkey

Electricity consumption: 198.1 billion (kWh)

As of 2005, Turkey had the fifth-highest direct usage and capacity of geothermal energy in the world.

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Image: A view of Mexico City.
18. Mexico

Electricity consumption: 181.5 billion (kWh)

Energy sector in Mexico has certain limitations in terms of private participation and foreign companies are allowed to operate in the country only through specific service contracts.

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Image: Dawn breaks over Jeddah.
19. Saudi Arabia

Electricity consumption: 165.1 billion (kWh)

Electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia increased sharply during the 1990-2010 period due to rapid economic development.

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Image: Beautiful Kiev.
20. Ukraine

Electricity consumption: 134.6 billion (kWh)

Ukraine has depended on Russia for most energy supplies, especially natural gas.

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Image: Sweden's capital Stockholm.
21. Sweden

Electricity consumption: 134.5 billion (kWh)

Sweden relies on hydro power and nuclear power.

The Swedish use of electricity declined 14 per cent in 2009.

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Image: A view of Bangkok.
22. Thailand

Electricity consumption: 134.4 billion (kWh)

Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is a state enterprise that owns and manages the majority of Thailand's electricity generation capacity, as well as the nation's transmission network.

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Image: Warsaw dazzles at night.
23. Poland

Electricity consumption: 129.3 billion (kWh)

In 2009, Poland was world's ninth-largest hard coal producer.

The country is also the second-largest coal consumer in Europe behind Germany.

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Image: Norway's capital Oslo.
24. Norway

Electricity consumption: 128.8 billion (kWh)

The electricity sector in Norway relies predominantly on hydroelectricity.

A significant share of the total electrical production is consumed by national industry.

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Image: A view of Amsterdam.
25. The Netherlands

Electricity consumption: 124.1 billion (kWh)

The volume of renewable electricity in 2009 was three times the volume of nuclear power.

The majority is produced with fossil fuels.

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Image: Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
26. Indonesia

Electricity consumption: 119.3 billion (kWh)

Renewable energy potential in Indonesia is high, especially solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy.

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Image: An aerial view of Cairo.
27. Egypt

Electricity consumption: 104.1 billion (kWh)

The Egyptian electric power system is almost entirely integrated, with thermal stations in Cairo and Alexandria and generators at Aswan.

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Image: Green and lovely Buenos Aires.
28. Argentina

Electricity consumption: 99.21 billion (kWh)

The electricity sector in Argentina constitutes the third-largest power market in Latin America.

It relies mostly on thermal generation and hydropower generation.

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