China's energy use has more than doubled over the last decade to overtake the United States as the word's biggest user, according to preliminary data from the International Energy Agency.

As the data from the IEA shows, China has gone from using 1,107 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2000, to 2,131 Mtoe in 2008 and is estimated to have consumed 2,265 Mtoe in 2009.

Meanwhile, US energy consumption was only marginally higher in 2008 (at 2,281 Mtoe) than it was in 2000 (2,270 Mtoe), and will actually be shown to have fallen last year (to 2,169 Mtoe).

As Jonathan Watts writes is his news story from Beijing, this is a major turning point. The US has been the world's biggest energy user since records began.

Total energy consumption: US and China (Million tons of oil equivalents) US China 2000 2270 1107 2001 2228 1104 2002 2254 1193 2003 2260 1356 2004 2306 1576 2005 2317 1707 2006 2295 1865 2007 2333 1977 2008 2281 2131 2009 (e) 2169 2265 Source: IEA

The IEA figures also show how individual energy consumption in China is rising fast - from 0.87 tons of oil equivalent (Toe) per person in 2000, to 1.6 Toe estimated in 2009.

(Although, this is a doubling from a low base - US per capita consumption was far higher at 7.92 Toe in 2000 and the preliminary IEA data has it at 6.95 Toe last year).

Total energy consumption per capita: US and China (Tons of oil equivalents) US China 2000 7.92 0.87 2001 7.69 0.86 2002 7.71 0.93 2003 7.66 1.05 2004 7.75 1.21 2005 7.71 1.3 2006 7.57 1.42 2007 7.62 1.49 2008 7.38 1.6 2009 (e) 6.95 1.69 Source: IEA

Here's how it looks as a graph.



• DATA: download the full total consumption datasheet

• DATA: download the full per capita datasheet

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