The big idea: Across the world, total energy and resource consumption is rising — driven by a growing population and a growing middle class. But the picture differs by income group.
High-income countries (HICs)
- In many, per-person energy use is now falling
- Why: efficiency, services, cleaner fuels
Middle-income countries (MICs)
- Per-person use is rising fast
- Why: people are getting richer
Per-person oil consumption (tonnes of oil equivalent per person per year)
| Country | 2000 | 2020 | Income group |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3.1 | 2.5 | High income |
| Japan | 2.0 | 1.4 | High income |
| Germany | 1.6 | 1.3 | High income |
| China | 0.3 | 0.9 | Middle income |
| India | 0.1 | 0.3 | Middle income |
| Nigeria | 0.1 | 0.1 | Lower-middle income |
World primary energy by source (share, approximate)
| Source | 2000 | 2023 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil | about 39% | about 32% | still the largest, share falling |
| Coal | about 25% | about 26% | rose with China and India, now flat |
| Natural gas | about 23% | about 23% | steady, replacing coal in many HICs |
| Nuclear | about 6% | about 4% | falling share: Germany closed its last reactors in 2023, China builds the most new ones |
| Hydro | about 6% | about 6% | steady |
| Wind, solar and other renewables | about 1% | about 8% | the fastest growth of any source |
Hydrocarbons still dominate, but the mix is changing
- Fossil fuels still supply about four-fifths of world energy, only a little less than in 2000, because total demand keeps rising.
- Electricity is changing fastest — renewables made about 30% of the world's electricity in 2023.
New sources of modern energy
- Shale oil and gas (fracking) — made the USA the world's largest oil and gas producer again in the 2010s.
- Solar and wind — costs fell steeply after 2010; China installs the most.
- Battery storage — stores solar power for the evening and smooths supply from wind.
- Hydrogen — "green" hydrogen made with renewable electricity could fuel steel-making and heavy transport, but is still small and costly.
Key terms
- Energy consumption — how much energy a country (or person) uses, often in tonnes of oil equivalent.
- Per-person (per capita) — the amount divided by the population; falls even when the total rises if population grows faster.
- E-waste — discarded electrical and electronic equipment (phones, TVs, computers).
- Energy security — reliable, affordable access to enough energy; weakened by heavy reliance on imported fuel.
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How this is tested: The stimulus is usually an infographic or bar graph of electricity generation, oil use or e-waste — often broken down by region or income group.
Expect short data-reads
- State a value.
- Identify the highest or lowest.
- Estimate off the scale.
- Describe the pattern with figures.
- Then a Suggest [2] on how the data could be shown better.
Whatever the command: Read the key first, then quote numbers and units straight from the figure.
Read the key first. Where is the gap between population share and electricity share widest?
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Using the bar graph, identify the region with the largest gap between its share of world population and its share of electricity generated.
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E-waste generated per person (kg per person per year)
| Country | E-waste per person (kg) | Income per person (US$ thousands) |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | 26 | 75 |
| Australia | 21 | 55 |
| United Kingdom | 23 | 45 |
| China | 7 | 12 |
| India | 3 | 2 |
| Kenya | 1 | 2 |
IB-style question - read the figure
Using the table: (a) state the range of e-waste generated per person [1]; (b) identify the country with the most e-waste per person [1]; (c) describe the relationship between income per person and e-waste per person [2].
How to answer each part
- (a) State the range. Range = highest minus lowest = 26 - 1 = 25 kg per person (from 1 to 26).
- (b) Identify the highest. Scan the e-waste column - Norway is highest at 26 kg per person.
- (c) Describe the relationship. It is positive: richer countries (Norway US$75k -> 26 kg) generate more e-waste per person than poorer ones (Kenya US$2k -> 1 kg).
Final answer
(a) 25 kg per person (1 to 26); (b) Norway; (c) a positive relationship - higher income goes with more e-waste per person.
Using the table, describe how per-person oil consumption changed between 2000 and 2020 in high-income countries.
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Why it FALLS in many high-income countries
- Energy efficiency - better cars, insulation and appliances do the same job with less fuel.
- Shift to services - factories move abroad, so the economy uses less heavy energy at home.
- Cleaner electricity - switching from oil to gas, nuclear and renewables cuts oil use per person.
Why it RISES in many middle-income countries
- Rising incomes - a growing middle class buys cars, fridges, air-conditioning and flights.
- Industrialisation - new factories and construction are energy-hungry.
- Urbanisation - cities and infrastructure demand far more energy than rural life.
Give and develop one reason why per-person oil consumption has fallen in some high-income countries over the last 20 years.
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Give and develop one reason why per-person oil consumption has risen in some middle-income countries over the last 20 years.
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Development changes the energy a country can access: Economic development does not just raise demand - it also raises the energy available to a country.
Development gives more money to
- Build power stations.
- Import fuel.
- Exploit reserves.
- Buy efficient technology.
It also reshapes which sources matter: Nuclear, for example, is growing in some fast-developing nations but declining in others worried about cost and safety.
Suggest two ways in which a country's economic development can raise the amount of energy available to it.
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The graphing-skills part: Q4 often asks you to suggest a better graph for a dataset and give a reason, or to improve a chart. Always add why it suits the data (shows the part-to-whole / trend / comparison clearly).
| The data shows | Best graph |
|---|---|
| Proportions of a whole (e.g. fuel mix) | A pie chart or stacked bar |
| Change over time | A line graph |
| Comparing categories | A bar chart |
IB-style question - improve the graph
A country's electricity comes from coal 40%, gas 25%, nuclear 20%, renewables 15%. Suggest one graphical method to display this and give a reason. [2]
How to answer
- Choose the method. The data are parts of one whole (a fuel mix adding to 100%), so a pie chart suits it.
- Give the reason. A pie chart shows each fuel as a proportion of the total, making the share of each source easy to compare at a glance.
Final answer
1 mark for a valid method (pie chart / stacked bar) + 1 for a reason tied to showing proportions of a whole.