Global energy demand growth slowed to 1.3% in 2025, which is slightly below the preceding decade’s average of 1.4% and significantly lower than in 2024, while global electricity demand increased by about 3%, which is more than twice the rate of overall energy demand growth, says international organisation the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The main reasons for the slowdown in global energy demand were lower global economic growth, less extreme temperatures in some regions and rapid uptake of more efficient technologies.
However, although electricity demand growth was slower than in 2024, it remained above the average of the past decade, the IEA’s ‘Global Energy Review 2026′ report shows.
Electricity demand growth was driven by multiple sectors across buildings and industry and boosted by fast-growing demand from electric vehicles (EVs) and data centres.
Electricity demand increased by about 800 TWh in 2025, with the 2025 data confirming the arrival of the age of electricity, the report states.
The addition of 600 TWh of solar PV generation worldwide in 2025 marked the largest structural increase ever recorded in a single year for any electricity generation technology, and contributed to a decline in coal-fired electricity generation globally, it notes.
The drivers of electricity demand growth were broad-based. Demand from EVs increased by 38% and demand from data centres increased by 17%.
However, these accounted for relatively slim shares of total electricity demand growth. Industry, household appliances and commercial buildings, excluding data centres, continued to provide the bulk of demand growth, the report shows.
Further, in advanced economies, electricity demand expanded by a robust 1.6% year-on-year, with particularly strong growth in the US. Data centres accounted for around 50% of total electricity demand growth in the US, with additional growth coming from the residential, industry and transport sectors.
Energy demand growth in the US rose to its second-highest level this century, excluding post-recession recovery years, boosted by strong electricity demand from data centres, robust industrial activity and also colder winter temperatures.
Additionally, growth in electricity demand in China remained strong at 5%, although it slowed compared with the very rapid 7% increase in 2024, which was pushed up by extraordinary cooling demand growth.
China also accounted for the largest overall share of global energy demand growth in 2025, but its growth rate dropped sharply to 1.7% as renewables displaced coal, which is less efficient, and broader energy–efficiency gains strengthened.
Electricity demand growth also weakened significantly in India, as a strong monsoon and cooler temperatures lowered electricity consumption for agricultural pumping and cooling.
“Global energy demand continued to increase in 2025 against a complex economic and geopolitical backdrop. One unmistakable trend is the expanding electrification of economies,” says IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
“Electricity consumption is growing much faster than overall energy demand. Solar energy grew much faster than other sources, with solar PV accounting for more than one-quarter of all of the world’s energy demand growth, which is more than any other source, for the first time, followed closely by natural gas.
“In today’s rapidly shifting landscape, countries that prioritise resilience and diversification will be best placed to manage volatility and deliver secure and affordable energy in the years ahead,” he says.
Meanwhile, the report shows that all major fuels and technologies expanded to meet rising demand, albeit at very different rates.
Solar PV was the single largest contributor to growth in global energy supply in 2025, accounting for more than 25% of the increase, which is the first time on record that a modern renewable source has led global primary energy supply growth.
Natural gas took the next largest share, at 17%, reflecting its role in power generation in many countries.
Overall, renewable sources and nuclear met nearly 60% of all growth in energy demand, and power generation from these sources exceeded total growth in electricity demand, the report shows.
Global oil demand rose by 0.7%, which is in line with IEA projections, and reflected continued growth in the uptake of EVs, which constrained demand for road fuels.
The report also shows that electric car sales increased by more than 20% in 2025 to more than 20-million units, making up about one in four new car sales worldwide.
Further, strong renewables growth reduced the use of coal in power generation in China, while coal demand increased in the US, as high natural gas prices drove gas-to-coal switching in electricity generation. Overall, the rate of coal demand growth slowed in 2025, the IEA says.
Growth in global energy-related CO2 emissions slowed in 2025, rising by about 0.4%.
According to the report, China’s emissions declined in 2025, supported by a surge in renewables and other low-emissions technologies.
Additionally, India’s energy-related CO2 emissions were flat for the first time since the 1970s, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic, with the effects of the unusually strong monsoon season playing a significant role in curbing emissions growth.
The trends identified in the report also diverged sharply across major economies. In advanced economies, an especially cold winter pushed fossil fuel use and emissions higher.
These developments meant that emissions from advanced economies grew faster, increasing by 0.5% than those from emerging and developing economies, which increased by 0.3%, for the first time since the 1990s.
Meanwhile, battery storage was the fastest-growing power sector technology in 2025. The roughly 110 GW of new battery storage capacity added during the year exceeded the largest-ever yearly capacity additions for natural gas.
Further, more than 12 GW of nuclear power reactors began construction in 2025, amid renewed momentum for nuclear projects in several regions.
“Cumulative deployment of low-emissions technologies since 2019 currently avoids yearly fossil-fuel consumption equivalent to the entire energy demand of Latin America.
“In aggregate, use of technologies such as solar PV, wind power and heat pumps now displaces natural gas demand equivalent to half of all global yearly LNG exports,” the IEA report says.