October 27, 2025

Figure 1 shows power consumption by data centers in 2024. Key observations: In 2024, power demand for data centers worldwide was 415 TWh, about 1.4% of the total estimated global power consumption 29,000–31,000 TWh. Two countries accounted for roughly 69% of global data center power consumption: the United States (180 TWh; 44%) and China (102 TWh; 25%). Power consumption for data centers in major European countries (Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands) totaled 41 TWh (10% of the global requirement). Canada and Australia each accounted for about 1% of global data center power consumption.

Figure 1: Data Centers Electricity Consumption 2024

Figure 2 shows the IEA forecast of power consumption for data centers. Observations and highlights:

• Total power consumption by data centers is projected to rise from around 270 TWh in 2020 to approximately 950 TWh in 2030, an increase of about 680 TWh over the decade—representing 2.5× growth.
• By 2030, data centers are expected to account for around 2.5–3% of total global electricity consumption.
• The growth of data center power demand accelerated after 2023 with the wider adoption of AI technologies. Recent increases were moderate: +28 TWh (2021), +27 TWh (2022), and +36 TWh (2023). 2024 appears to mark an inflection point (+55 TWh), followed by significant annual increases in 2027 (+104 TWh) and 2028 (+110 TWh).
• In 2030, the United States (430 TWh; ~45% of data center sector demand) and China (280 TWh; ~29%) are expected to remain the dominant markets in global data center power consumption.

Figure 2: Data Centers Electricity Consumption Forecast 2020-2030
Source: IEA

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