Global leaders are setting big goals for our planet, hoping to switch to cleaner energy sources. But a new report from Visual Capitalist gives us a clear look at how the world actually powered itself last year, in 2024. It shows we still rely heavily on old energy methods, even as new ones gain speed.
Visual Capitalist is known for turning complicated numbers into easy-to-understand charts. They often break down big topics, from where the richest people live to the latest humanoid robots. This time, their focus was on the global energy mix.
How the World Used Energy in 2024
According to their findings, the world’s energy hunger grew by 2% in 2024. This pushed total demand to a record 592 exajoules. Non-fossil fuels, like solar and wind, saw a 7% increase from the year before. This brought their share of the total energy pie to 13.5%.
It’s good news that clean energy grew. Yet, traditional power sources still carry most of the load for our global energy system. The Asia-Pacific region, with its booming economy and industry, was responsible for 68% of this new demand growth.
Oil, coal, and natural gas together supplied a massive 86.7% of the world’s energy needs in 2024.
Oil prices, on average, dropped by 3% last year. Still, they remained 27% higher than they were in 2019. The United States kept its spot as the biggest oil producer on Earth. It provided about one-fifth of all the oil produced globally.
Coal came in next, making up 27.9% of the total. Its use grew in fast-developing economies. Natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal, supplied 25.2% of our energy.
Despite how much we still depend on fossil fuels, cleaner, low-carbon energy sources are growing quickly.
In 2024, these cleaner options made up 13.5% of the total supply. This was thanks to that 7% yearly jump. Wind and solar power stood out, increasing by 16%. They remain the fastest-growing energy sources across the globe. Nuclear power also contributed, accounting for 5.2% of the supply. France and Japan were key players here, driving almost two-thirds of nuclear energy’s growth.
Our Energy Needs Keep Growing
As Artificial Intelligence keeps getting more powerful, it needs more and more energy. This pushed electricity use higher in every region of the world. Overall, Visual Capitalist’s data shows that global electricity demand grew twice as fast as total energy demand. Renewable sources were a major reason for this increase.
Looking at different parts of the world, Asia-Pacific saw a 5.4% rise in demand in 2024. The Middle East was close behind with a 5.3% jump.