What does electric power consumption per capita mean?

Measurement contract

Metric key

metric.electricity-consumption

Unit

kilowatt-hours per person (kWh/person)

Reference period

Annual; country-level measurement; observation year preserved from source

Source indicator

EG.USE.ELEC.KH.PC

Alternative terms

electricity, electricity consumption, electric power, electrical usage, power consumption, kwh, energy

Cross-country comparison

Allowed with same-year alignment and the documented caveats

Method

WDI publishes IEA energy statistics from national energy agencies, adjusted to international definitions. Net consumption accounts for electricity production, trade, losses and generating plants’ own use, then divides by midyear population.

Interpretation limits

• This includes electricity across economic sectors; it is not household electricity consumption or an electricity bill.
• IEA source coverage and methods can change, producing breaks in time series. The source describes a different calculation convention for the United States.
• Consumption does not measure supply reliability, outages or electricity access.
• Missing years remain missing. An association with economic output does not establish causation.