About this chart race
The United States led annual solar electricity generation in 2000 and 2001. Japan moved ahead in 2002, Germany took the lead in 2006, and China became the largest producer in 2015. These turning points are calculated from the source series, rather than from installed-capacity rankings.
In 2025, China generated 1,174.96 TWh of solar electricity, followed by the United States at 388.82 TWh and India at 195.99 TWh. Japan produced 101.06 TWh, Germany 89.62 TWh and Brazil 88.64 TWh. The figures describe annual output, not cumulative generation or the number of panels installed.
The race includes the 25 countries that appeared in the annual top ten between 2000 and 2025 in the current Our World in Data electricity dataset. Each has 26 annual observations. Regional aggregates are excluded. The series combines Ember and Energy Institute data processed by Our World in Data; the unit is terawatt-hours of electricity. Source files were retrieved on 6 October 2026.
Reported values can include estimates, particularly for distributed rooftop generation, and may be revised. Zero values in the published dataset can reflect rounding of very small output. Country totals do not measure solar share, output per person, installed capacity or system reliability. The animation interpolates between annual observations for smooth movement; intermediate frames are not additional measured data.
Sources: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix?frequency=annual&metric=generation&source=solar ; https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/2025-in-review/ ; https://catalog.ourworldindata.org/energy/owid_energy/owid_energy.csv
This animated ranking shows how annual electricity generation from solar changed across 25 series between 2000 and 2025. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2025, China leads with 1,174.96 TWh.
Included in this race
China, United States, India, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Australia, Italy, South Korea, France, Netherlands, Mexico, Vietnam, South Africa, United Kingdom, Greece, Belgium, Austria, Canada, Thailand, Portugal, Switzerland, Colombia, Czechia.
Source
Data from Ember / Energy Institute via Our World in Data. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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