Energy intensity level of primary energy

Short description

The ratio between energy supply and GDP measured at purchasing power parity. This is an indication (or measure) of how much energy is used to produce one unit of GDP.

Meta data

Unit:

MJ per $2011 PPP GDP

Original data

Data:

Energy intensity.csv

Unit for original data:

MJ per $2011 PPP GDP

Date of extraction:

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Data source link:

The World Bank

Rationale

This is a measure of how efficiently energy is being used to produce economic output. This is a good indicator, along with greenhouse gas emissions, of how efficient energy consumption is in each country. In addition, despite some countries having better energy efficiency technology developments than other, these technologies could be imported and used, and hence energy intensity is a good indicator for energy efficiency commitments of countries lagging behind in energy efficiency technology developments.

Limitations

Energy intensity is only an indicator for energy efficiency and not a substitute measure. It can be affected by other factors not related to efficiency. In addition, it is generally low in countries with dominant agricultural sectors, which isn’t necessarily an indicator of how efficiently energy is used in the country. The data of total primary energy supply originates from the IEA, and the data of GDP measured in 2011 US Dollars at Purchasing Power Parity is obtained from the World Development Indicators.

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The indicator is relevant to the following innovation systems on this website

Climate adaptation

Where climate change mitigation fails, adaptation becomes the unavoidable response.

Energy efficiency

Energy needs to be used much more efficiently.