IEA: Global Electricity Demand to Rise 3% in 2025, With EVs and Data Centers as Key Drivers

Gaishi Auto News: On April 20, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its “World Energy Outlook” report, indicating that global energy demand growth will slow to 1.3% in 2025, while electricity consumption will rise by 3% year-on-year, driven primarily by electric vehicles and data centers.

The report indicates that the global energy demand growth rate of 1.3% in 2025 is slightly below the average of 1.4% over the past decade and significantly lower than in 2024, mainly due to factors such as a slowdown in global economic growth, a reduction in extreme high-temperature weather, and the widespread adoption of efficient energy-saving technologies.

Unlike the overall slowdown in energy demand, electricity demand grew by 3%, approximately 2.3 times the growth rate of total energy demand, exhibiting a divergence characterized by "modest growth in total energy and robust growth in electricity consumption."

From the perspective of demand structure, electric vehicles and data centers are the biggest highlights in electricity consumption growth. In 2025, global electricity demand for electric vehicles surged by 38% year-on-year, while data center electricity demand grew by 17%, becoming the core sources of electricity demand expansion.

Source: International Energy Agency

By region, electricity demand in advanced economies grew steadily by 1.6%, with the United States showing particularly strong growth, where data centers accounted for approximately 50% of the country's incremental electricity demand. China's electricity demand continued to grow, but the pace slowed compared to 2024 due to improved energy efficiency and a decline in cooling demand.

The IEA emphasized that industrial production, residential electricity use, and commercial buildings remain the foundation of global power demand, while the proliferation of electric vehicles and data center expansion driven by AI continue to increase electricity consumption, reshaping the global energy demand structure.

Moreover, in 2025, solar power became the largest contributor to global energy supply growth for the first time, and clean energy is rapidly replacing conventional energy sources, supporting the growth of electricity demand. Looking ahead, as the electrification process deepens and the digital economy develops, global electricity demand is expected to remain robust.

The IEA forecasts that global electricity demand will grow at an average annual rate of 3.6% between 2026 and 2030, significantly higher than the average of the past decade, and electricity's share in final energy consumption will continue to rise, making it a central driver of the energy transition.