The Green Grid
Renewable electricity as a share of total electricity output, six major economies, 2000 to today
- Unit
- % of electricity
- Frequency
- Annual
- Coverage
- 2000–2021
- Evidence Quality
- High
Renewable electricity share — Brazil greenest on legacy hydro, Germany's Energiewende climbing toward 40%, the rest rising.
World Bank WDI · Renewable electricity output (% of total) · EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS
Line chart, 2000 to 2021. Renewable electricity (% of total output). 6 series: United States, China, India, Germany, Japan and Brazil. Brazil is highlighted; its latest reading is 77.4% in 2021.
Question
Whose electricity is greenest — and is that green built or inherited?
Evidence
Renewable electricity output shows how much of a country's power comes from hydro, wind, solar, and other renewables. Brazil runs the greenest grid of the six by far, near 80%, but for an inherited reason: decades of hydropower, not new wind and solar. Germany is the opposite case — the deliberate builder, its renewable share leaping from under 7% to about 40% through the Energiewende policy push. The US, China, Japan, and India cluster lower, all rising as wind and solar scale off coal- and gas-heavy bases.
Observation
Read level, slope and timing together.
A high share can mean legacy hydro (Brazil) or a modern build-out (Germany) — the level alone doesn't distinguish inherited green power from newly built.
Assessment
- Brazil has the greenest grid — near 80% — but on legacy hydropower, and its share dips as demand outgrows the dams.
- Germany is the mover: a policy-driven climb from ~7% to ~40%, the clearest deliberate green build-out here.
- The US, China, Japan, and India rise from low bases as wind and solar are added to coal- and gas-heavy grids.
Advantage
- What does it emit in total?The Emitters
- And per person?The Carbon Footprint
- How much energy does it use?Climbing the Energy Ladder