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THE GLOBAL INDEX #098

Solar installed capacity2020

Installed solar generation capacity at year end, in gigawatts. Capacity and electricity generation are separate measures.

IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Comparable ranking year2025Latest published year: 2025
Economies with data204 / 217No observation: 13
First-ranked country or territoryChina253.86 GW

Top 10

GW · 2020
01China
253.86
02United States
75.79
03Japan
71.87
04Germany
53.67
05India
39.71
06Italy
21.36
07Australia
19.77
08Vietnam
16.66
09South Korea
14.66
10United Kingdom
13.77

Complete ranking

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Solar installed capacity · 2020 · GW
RankCountry / territoryValue (GW)Year
01China253.862020
02United States75.792020
03Japan71.872020
04Germany53.672020
05India39.712020
06Italy21.362020
07Australia19.772020
08Vietnam16.662020
09South Korea14.662020
10United Kingdom13.772020
11Spain12.472020
12France11.292020
13Netherlands11.112020
14Brazil8.382020
15Ukraine7.332020
16Mexico7.162020
17Türkiye6.672020
18Belgium5.452020
19South Africa3.712020
20Poland3.662020
21Chile3.292020
22Greece3.172020
23Canada3.072020
24Thailand2.982020
25Switzerland2.882020
26Israel2.652020
27United Arab Emirates2.332020
28Hungary2.132020
29Czechia2.122020
30Austria2.052020
31Russia1.772020
32Egypt1.642020
33Jordan1.542020
34Malaysia1.482020
35Romania1.382020
36Denmark1.32020
37Portugal1.192020
38Sweden1.122020
39Bulgaria1.12020
40Philippines1.082020
41Pakistan1.052020
42Kazakhstan0.912020
43Morocco0.772020
44Argentina0.772020
45Slovakia0.542020
46Honduras0.532020
47El Salvador0.482020
48Sri Lanka0.442020
49Iran0.432020
50Saudi Arabia0.412020
51Dominican Republic0.392020
52Puerto Rico0.382020
53Slovenia0.372020
54Algeria0.372020
55Singapore0.342020
56Bangladesh0.342020
57Peru0.332020
58Cambodia0.332020
59Finland0.32020
60Uruguay0.262020
61Yemen0.262020
62Lithuania0.242020
63Panama0.242020
64Cyprus0.232020
65Cuba0.212020
66Estonia0.212020
67Namibia0.192020
68Luxembourg0.192020
69Malta0.182020
70Indonesia0.172020
71Ireland0.162020
72Senegal0.162020
73Belarus0.162020
74New Zealand0.152020
75Norway0.142020
76Oman0.132020
77New Caledonia0.122020
78Bolivia0.122020
79Palestinian Territories0.122020
80Sudan0.122020
81Mauritius0.112020
82Kenya0.112020
83Croatia0.112020
84Jamaica0.112020
85Ghana0.112020
86Mongolia0.12020
87Tunisia0.12020
88Zambia0.092020
89Guatemala0.092020
90Lebanon0.092020
91Hong Kong SAR China0.092020
92Mauritania0.092020
93Myanmar (Burma)0.082020
94Kuwait0.082020
95North Korea0.082020
96Nigeria0.082020
97Uganda0.072020
98Colombia0.072020
99Nepal0.062020
100Mali0.062020
101Burkina Faso0.062020
102Costa Rica0.062020
103Mozambique0.052020
104Afghanistan0.052020
105Armenia0.052020
106Barbados0.052020
107French Polynesia0.042020
108Laos0.042020
109Guam0.042020
110Cameroon0.042020
111Maldives0.042020
112Iraq0.042020
113Azerbaijan0.042020
114Bosnia & Herzegovina0.032020
115Serbia0.032020
116North Macedonia0.032020
117Ecuador0.032020
118Eritrea0.032020
119Madagascar0.022020
120Albania0.022020
121Ethiopia0.022020
122Nicaragua0.022020
123Samoa0.022020
124Cape Verde0.012020
125Aruba0.012020
126Guinea0.012020
127Niger0.012020
128Congo - Kinshasa0.012020
129Rwanda0.012020
130Zimbabwe0.012020
131Curaçao0.012020
132Antigua & Barbuda0.012020
133Cayman Islands0.012020
134Syria0.012020
135Somalia0.012020
136Togo0.012020
137Bahrain0.012020
138U.S. Virgin Islands0.012020
139Fiji0.012020
140Guyana0.012020
141Micronesia0.012020
142Tonga0.012020
143Iceland0.012020
144Belize0.012020
145Seychelles0.012020
146Côte d’Ivoire0.012020
147Suriname0.012020
148Tanzania0.012020
149Botswana0.012020
150Bahamas0.012020
151Libya0.012020
152Latvia0.012020
153Qatar0.012020
154Benin02020
155American Samoa02020
155Vanuatu02020
157Georgia02020
158Moldova02020
159St. Vincent & Grenadines02020
160St. Lucia02020
161Trinidad & Tobago02020
162Sierra Leone02020
163South Sudan02020
164Tuvalu02020
165Grenada02020
166Uzbekistan02020
167Malawi02020
168St. Kitts & Nevis02020
169Haiti02020
170Palau02020
171Venezuela02020
172Montenegro02020
173Nauru02020
174Liberia02020
175Solomon Islands02020
176Papua New Guinea02020
177Burundi02020
178Kiribati02020
179Gambia02020
180Guinea-Bissau02020
181Marshall Islands02020
182Brunei02020
183Angola02020
184British Virgin Islands02020
185Comoros02020
186Chad02020
187St. Martin02020
188Turks & Caicos Islands02020
189Andorra02020
190Lesotho02020
191Congo - Brazzaville02020
192Djibouti02020
193Timor-Leste02020
194Greenland02020
195Central African Republic02020
196São Tomé & Príncipe02020
197Equatorial Guinea02020
198Dominica02020
199Faroe Islands02020
200Tajikistan02020
201Eswatini02020
202Paraguay02020
203Bhutan02020
204Gabon02020
204 / 204 · Economies with data

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (13)

Bermuda · Channel Islands · Gibraltar · Isle of Man · Kosovo · Kyrgyzstan · Liechtenstein · Macao SAR China · Monaco · Northern Mariana Islands · San Marino · Sint Maarten · Turkmenistan

Source & definition

Indicator definition
Installed solar generation capacity at year end, in gigawatts. Capacity and electricity generation are separate measures.
Unit
GW
Source & definition
IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data · owid-grapher:installed-solar-pv-capacity
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Cumulative installed solar capacity, measured in gigawatts (GW). 

{
  "description": "Cumulative installed solar capacity, measured in gigawatts (GW).",
  "column": {
    "titleShort": "Total solar capacity",
    "titleLong": "Total solar capacity",
    "descriptionShort": "Total solar (on- and off-grid) electricity installed capacity, measured in gigawatts. This includes solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power.",
    "shortUnit": "GW",
    "unit": "gigawatts",
    "timespan": "2000-2025",
    "type": "Numeric",
    "owidVariableId": 1305908,
    "shortName": "solar__total_gw",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-07-28",
    "nextUpdate": "2027-07-28",
    "citationShort": "IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data",
    "citationLong": "IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. “Total solar capacity” [dataset]. IRENA, “Renewable Energy Statistics” [original data].",
    "fullMetadata": "https://api.ourworldindata.org/v1/indicators/1305908.metadata.json"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Cumulative installed solar capacity, measured in gigawatts (GW). "
}

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