Countries by Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output)
Bhutan ranks 1st with 100% of its electricity generated from renewable sources, while Comoros, Gibraltar, and Sint Maarten sit at the bottom with 0%. Across 208 countries, the gap between the highest and lowest values spans the full possible range of the metric. The ranking shows that both small economies and large ones appear at both extremes.
Ranking 2021
Values shown in %.
Analysis
This metric measures renewable electricity as a percentage of total electricity generated. Per the source definition: 'Renewable electricity is the share of electricity generated by renewable power plants in total electricity generated by all types of plants.' The unit is percentage, where higher values indicate a greater share of electricity from renewable sources. The data comes from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, for the reference year 2021. Coverage is strong: 208 countries are included, 204 of them (98.1%) have data from 2021, and 98.6% have data from the last seven years. All 208 datapoints are classified as official-quality. No extreme outliers were identified using a three-standard-deviation threshold, and the average year-over-year change of 30.0% falls below the 50% volatility threshold.
The top of the ranking is dominated by countries with abundant hydropower resources. Bhutan (rank 1) reaches 100%, Paraguay (rank 2) reaches 99.9974%, and Iceland (rank 3) reaches 99.9936%. Lesotho (rank 4, 99.79%) and Costa Rica (rank 5, 99.37%) also exceed 99%. Norway (rank 6, 99.10%) and the Central African Republic (rank 7, 96.47%) round out the top seven. High-income European countries with significant hydropower — such as Austria (rank 29, 79.76%), Switzerland (rank 42, 68.07%), and Sweden (rank 43, 67.39%) — also place in the upper half, as do major Latin American economies like Brazil (rank 34, 77.38%) and Colombia (rank 38, 75.12%).
The middle of the ranking includes several large economies. China ranks 92nd at 28.43%, the United States ranks 115th at 20.27%, and India ranks 122nd at 19.13%. Some placements are counterintuitive: North Korea (rank 50) records 63.24%, placing it above many wealthier nations. Saudi Arabia (rank 201) records just 0.065%, and Qatar (rank 196) records 0.276%, reflecting heavy reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation. At the bottom, three territories — Comoros (rank 206), Gibraltar (rank 206), and Sint Maarten (rank 206) — each record exactly 0%, sharing the last position.
Several limitations apply to this metric. The indicator measures the share of electricity from renewables but does not capture total electricity generation volume, so a small country generating all of its limited electricity from renewables ranks the same as one with large absolute renewable capacity. The metric also does not distinguish between renewable types such as hydro, wind, solar, or geothermal. Reporting quality may vary for smaller or conflict-affected territories. Three countries have data older than seven years, and four countries lacked a 2021 data point. Territorial entities such as Greenland, Faroe Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico are included alongside sovereign states, which may affect comparability.
Methodology
Data source: World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, reference year 2021. The metric is defined as follows: 'Renewable electricity is the share of electricity generated by renewable power plants in total electricity generated by all types of plants.' Values are expressed as a percentage. The dataset covers 208 countries. Of these, 204 (98.1%) have data from 2021, and 205 (98.6%) have data from within the last seven years. All 208 datapoints carry official data quality classification, exceeding the 70% threshold. No extreme outliers were detected at the three-standard-deviation level. The average year-over-year change is 30.0%, within the 50% volatility threshold. Values range from 0.00% to 100.00%. The metric does not account for absolute electricity generation volumes, renewable energy type composition, or electricity imported from other countries.