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World rankings/Energy & electricity

THE GLOBAL INDEX #098

Solar installed capacity2021

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 territoryChina306.97 GW

Top 10

GW · 2021
01China
306.97
02United States
94.79
03Japan
78.41
04Germany
60.04
05India
49.98
06Australia
24.4
07Italy
22.29
08South Korea
17.59
09Vietnam
16.66
10Spain
16.06

Complete ranking

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Solar installed capacity · 2021 · GW
RankCountry / territoryValue (GW)Year
01China306.972021
02United States94.792021
03Japan78.412021
04Germany60.042021
05India49.982021
06Australia24.42021
07Italy22.292021
08South Korea17.592021
09Vietnam16.662021
10Spain16.062021
11Netherlands14.822021
12France14.392021
13Brazil14.312021
14United Kingdom14.252021
15Mexico8.932021
16Ukraine8.062021
17Türkiye7.822021
18Poland7.092021
19Belgium5.932021
20Chile4.712021
21South Africa4.212021
22Greece4.072021
23Canada3.852021
24Israel3.592021
25Switzerland3.522021
26Thailand3.072021
27United Arab Emirates32021
28Hungary2.972021
29Austria2.792021
30Czechia2.182021
31Russia1.992021
32Portugal1.822021
33Jordan1.812021
34Denmark1.72021
35Egypt1.662021
36Sweden1.622021
37Malaysia1.582021
38Pakistan1.432021
39Philippines1.412021
40Romania1.392021
41Bulgaria1.272021
42Argentina1.082021
43Kazakhstan1.042021
44Morocco0.852021
45Sri Lanka0.622021
46Dominican Republic0.582021
47El Salvador0.542021
48Slovakia0.542021
49Honduras0.532021
50Bangladesh0.512021
51Singapore0.52021
52Panama0.52021
53Puerto Rico0.492021
54Slovenia0.462021
55Iran0.462021
56Saudi Arabia0.442021
57Lithuania0.422021
58Finland0.42021
59Cambodia0.42021
60Estonia0.392021
61Algeria0.372021
62Peru0.332021
63Cyprus0.312021
64Luxembourg0.282021
65Uruguay0.272021
66Yemen0.262021
67Ireland0.252021
68Cuba0.252021
69Senegal0.232021
70Indonesia0.222021
71Lebanon0.212021
72Malta0.192021
73New Zealand0.192021
74Namibia0.192021
75Norway0.182021
76Palestinian Territories0.182021
77New Caledonia0.172021
78Kenya0.172021
79Bolivia0.172021
80Belarus0.162021
81Ghana0.162021
82Oman0.162021
83Colombia0.152021
84Armenia0.152021
85Croatia0.142021
86Sudan0.142021
87Mauritius0.122021
88Myanmar (Burma)0.112021
89Jamaica0.112021
90Mongolia0.12021
91North Korea0.12021
92Nigeria0.12021
93Tunisia0.12021
94Hong Kong SAR China0.12021
95Zambia0.092021
96Guatemala0.092021
97Mali0.092021
98Nepal0.092021
99Mauritania0.092021
100Kuwait0.082021
101Uganda0.082021
102Costa Rica0.072021
103Barbados0.062021
104Togo0.062021
105Malawi0.062021
106Mozambique0.062021
107Burkina Faso0.062021
108Laos0.062021
109Bosnia & Herzegovina0.062021
110Cameroon0.052021
111Afghanistan0.052021
112Serbia0.052021
113Azerbaijan0.052021
114French Polynesia0.052021
115North Macedonia0.052021
116Guam0.042021
117Maldives0.042021
118Iraq0.042021
119Syria0.032021
120Ecuador0.032021
121Zimbabwe0.032021
122Eritrea0.032021
123Madagascar0.022021
124Albania0.022021
125Bahrain0.022021
126Ethiopia0.022021
127Somalia0.022021
128Georgia0.022021
129Congo - Kinshasa0.022021
130Cape Verde0.022021
131Seychelles0.022021
132Nicaragua0.022021
133Samoa0.022021
134Guinea0.022021
135Antigua & Barbuda0.012021
136Aruba0.012021
137Rwanda0.012021
138Niger0.012021
139Moldova0.012021
140Cayman Islands0.012021
141Curaçao0.012021
142Sierra Leone0.012021
143Bahamas0.012021
144Eswatini0.012021
145U.S. Virgin Islands0.012021
146Fiji0.012021
147Burundi0.012021
148Côte d’Ivoire0.012021
149Suriname0.012021
150Micronesia0.012021
151Latvia0.012021
152Guyana0.012021
153Tonga0.012021
154Iceland0.012021
155Belize0.012021
156Libya0.012021
157Botswana0.012021
158Benin0.012021
159Tanzania0.012021
160Qatar0.012021
161Brunei02021
162Vanuatu02021
163American Samoa02021
164Palau02021
165St. Vincent & Grenadines02021
166St. Lucia02021
167Trinidad & Tobago02021
168Papua New Guinea02021
169Tuvalu02021
170Grenada02021
171South Sudan02021
172Uzbekistan02021
173Comoros02021
174Venezuela02021
175St. Kitts & Nevis02021
176Haiti02021
177Nauru02021
178Liberia02021
179Turks & Caicos Islands02021
180Montenegro02021
181Solomon Islands02021
182Guinea-Bissau02021
183Kiribati02021
184Gambia02021
185Marshall Islands02021
186Chad02021
187British Virgin Islands02021
188Angola02021
189Andorra02021
190St. Martin02021
191Greenland02021
192Lesotho02021
193Congo - Brazzaville02021
194Gabon02021
195Djibouti02021
196Bhutan02021
197Timor-Leste02021
198Central African Republic02021
199Dominica02021
200Faroe Islands02021
201Tajikistan02021
202São Tomé & Príncipe02021
203Equatorial Guinea02021
204Paraguay02021
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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