China’s Electrification Surpasses Major Western Nations, Report Finds

China’s rate of electrification has continued to grow, surpassing that of many major developed economies in Europe and North America, recent data shows.

Last year, the country’s overall electrification rate stood at 28.8%, marking an increase of nearly 1 percentage point from the previous year, according to a report released during the 2025 New Power System Development forum held in Chongli on September 24.

The projection indicates that this rate could reach approximately 35% by 2030, which would be around 8 to 10 percentage points higher than the average among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Greater Bay Area, comprising Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, led the nation with an electrification rate of 41.7% last year—similar to Japan’s. Other notable regions include the Yangtze River Delta at 34.1%, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle at 29.5%, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster at 21.4%.

The report highlighted the impressive performance of the industrial sector, which achieved an electrification rate of 27.7% last year. Notably, high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries soared to 64.7%, while the rate for consumer goods manufacturing increased by 0.8 percentage points to reach 46%.

Electrification refers to the share of electricity in final energy consumption and serves as a crucial measure of energy transition. With ongoing efforts toward green electrification, total electricity use in China is expected to double from 2020 levels by 2060, with the electrification rate climbing above 65%, according to Yang Kun, vice chairman of the China Electricity Council.

Industry continues to be a dominant force, accounting for 64% of the country’s electricity consumption last year, said Zhu Zhang, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Zhu emphasized that future progress will rely heavily on innovation-driven growth. He mentioned the promotion of technologies like electric furnace steelmaking in energy-intensive industries and the importance of industrial substitution and ecosystem improvements to sustain growth, he added.