Quick post today: In keeping with the global energy use/production theme, here is a list of the countries that have the highest energy use per capita:
| Country Name | Electricity consumption per capita (kWh per person) | Year of Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 52,621 | 2012 |
| Norway | 24,558 | 2012 |
| Kuwait | 16,090 | 2012 |
| Canada | 16,020 | 2012 |
| Finland | 15,788 | 2012 |
| Sweden | 14,510 | 2012 |
| United Arab Emirates | 13,281 | 2012 |
| Luxembourg | 12,676 | 2012 |
| United States | 11,920 | 2012 |
| Australia | 10,238 | 2012 |
So what exactly does this list tell us? Maybe not much. We see a lot of countries in very cold and very hot climates appear high on the list. This makes sense, because they will use more energy for heating and cooling. Also, energy producers tend to be higher on the list, since they have cheaper fuel available. Of course, more developed countries are higher on the list as well.
It is interesting however, to see this consumption per capita, because we often forget smaller countries in discussions about global consumption. The US and China are always mentioned as the biggest energy gluttons in the world (because as countries they consume the largest amounts of energy), but the US barely cracks the top ten in per person use, and China is even further down the list (#73). It’s a different perspective. China is the biggest energy consumer, but because of their massive population, they aren’t using that much for each citizen.
In case you are curious, here is a per capita energy comparison for larger counties:
Sources:
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5988/economics/list-of-countries-energy-use-per-capita/
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=81000&t=10
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2233rank.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2240rank.html
rethink. renew. revive. 