Energy independence can mean domestic production, a low import share, a positive net-trade balance, or less exposure to imported fuels. These statistics cover those definitions across the United States, the European Union, China, Brazil and global energy markets, with observed results separated from estimates and counterfactuals.
Key Energy Independence Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2024, U.S. primary-energy production reached 103.548 quadrillion Btu.
- In 2024, U.S. primary-energy consumption totaled 94.556 quadrillion Btu.
- In 2024, imports supplied 17% of U.S. energy supply.
- In 2024, U.S. energy exports reached 30.92 quadrillion Btu.
- In 2024, U.S. energy exports exceeded imports by 9.26 quadrillion Btu.
- In 2024, crude oil and refined products made up 84% of U.S. energy imports.
- In 2023, the United States imported 8.51 million barrels of petroleum per day.
- In 2023, the United States was a net petroleum exporter by 1.64 million barrels per day.
- In 2023, Canada supplied 52% of U.S. gross petroleum imports.
- In 2024, U.S. natural-gas exports exceeded imports by 4,562 Bcf.
- In 2024, U.S. dry natural-gas production totaled 37.72 Tcf.
- In 2023, imported fossil fuels supplied about one-quarter of EU electricity.
- In 2023, China’s electricity-supply import dependence was 7% in the IEA’s actual scenario.
- In the IEA’s 2023 Low-RES scenario, global coal and gas imports would have been about 45% higher.
- In 2023, global energy investment was expected to reach $2.8 trillion.
- In 2023, clean-energy investment was $1.70 for every $1 invested in fossil fuels.
- In FY2023, U.S. federal agencies used 6,566,958 MWh of renewable electricity.
Contents
- What energy independence measures
- U.S. energy independence trends
- Petroleum independence data
- Natural-gas independence statistics
- Renewables and energy security
- Energy independence investment
What Energy Independence Measures
Energy independence is not one universal statistic. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses energy-content measures such as British thermal units to compare fuels, while petroleum and natural-gas trade are reported in barrels and cubic feet.
The 2024 U.S. primary-energy balance shows why production and consumption should be reported separately:
| Measure | United States, 2024 | Definition or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Primary-energy production | 103.548 quadrillion Btu | Includes fuels and non-electric production |
| Primary-energy consumption | 94.556 quadrillion Btu | Includes electric and non-electric uses |
| Imports | 17% of energy supply | Includes domestic production, imports and energy withdrawn from storage in the supply comparison |
| Total energy imports | About 22 quadrillion Btu | Energy-content measure across fuels |
Source: EIA, “Imports made up 17% of U.S. energy supply in 2024, the lowest share in nearly 40 years”.
The United States was a net total-energy exporter for the third consecutive year in 2024. The 17% import share was half the record share reached in 2006, but net exports do not mean that every fuel or region is free from imports.
U.S. Energy Independence Trends in Trade and Supply
The EIA’s total-energy trade data show a positive national balance alongside substantial gross imports. U.S. energy exports reached 30.92 quadrillion Btu in 2024, up about 4% from 2023, and exceeded imports by 9.26 quadrillion Btu.
The composition of imports remains important:
- Crude oil and refined petroleum products represented 84% of U.S. energy imports in 2024.
- Natural gas represented 15% of U.S. energy imports in 2024.
Source: EIA, “U.S. energy facts – imports and exports”.
Domestic production in 2024 was distributed across several fuel groups rather than one source. Petroleum and other liquids produced 36.777 quadrillion Btu, dry natural gas produced 39.121 quadrillion Btu, coal produced 10.579 quadrillion Btu, and the combined nuclear, renewables and other category produced 17.071 quadrillion Btu.
These categories are not interchangeable with electricity generation. The combined nuclear, renewables and other figure is not a renewable-only measure, and the primary-energy totals include fuels used outside the power sector.
Petroleum Independence Data: Production, Imports and Exports
Petroleum independence is best described with gross flows and net flows together. In 2023, the United States imported 8.51 million barrels per day of petroleum from 86 countries, while exporting 10.15 million barrels per day to 173 countries and three U.S. territories.
| Petroleum measure | United States, 2023 | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Gross imports | 8.51 million barrels/day | Crude, HGLs, refined products and biofuels |
| Gross exports | 10.15 million barrels/day | Exports to 173 countries and three territories |
| Net exports | 1.64 million barrels/day | Preliminary EIA data |
| Crude share of gross imports | 76% | Not net imports |
| Crude share of gross exports | 40% | Not net exports |
Source: EIA, “How much petroleum does the United States import and export?”.
The country mix also shows why net petroleum exports do not eliminate supply-chain exposure. Canada supplied 52% of gross U.S. petroleum imports, or 4.42 million barrels per day, while OPEC supplied 16%, or 1.34 million barrels per day, in 2023.
For an earlier production reference point, U.S. petroleum production averaged 20,078,900 barrels per day in 2022, including crude oil, natural-gas liquids, renewable fuels and processing gain. Crude-oil production alone averaged 11,910,622 barrels per day in 2022.
Source: EIA, “Oil and petroleum products explained – data and statistics”.
Natural-Gas Independence Statistics and Deliveries
Natural gas had a positive U.S. trade balance in 2024, but imports and exports both remained significant. Natural-gas exports were 7,707 Bcf, up 1.0% from 2023, while imports were 3,145 Bcf, up 7.1%; exports exceeded imports by 4,562 Bcf, or an average surplus of 12.5 Bcf per day.
U.S. dry natural-gas production totaled 37.72 Tcf in 2024, up 0.2% from 2023. Deliveries to consumers totaled 29.8 Tcf, though deliveries are not identical to end-use consumption.
The 2024 delivery averages varied by user group:
- Residential natural-gas deliveries averaged 12.0 Bcf per day, down 3.3% year over year.
- Industrial deliveries averaged 23.44 Bcf per day under the EIA series methodology used from 1997 onward.
- Electric-power-sector deliveries averaged 36.8 Bcf per day; this is a delivery measure, not electricity generated.
Source: EIA, “Natural Gas Annual”.
The figures measure different stages of the system: production, cross-border trade and deliveries. They should therefore be read as complementary indicators rather than added together.
Renewables and Energy Security Outcomes
The International Energy Agency (IEA) compares observed fuel-import exposure with a Low-RES counterfactual that assumes no new non-hydro renewable capacity after 2010. The counterfactual values are estimates, not observed historical outcomes.
| Geography or measure | 2023 actual or estimate | IEA Low-RES comparison |
|---|---|---|
| EU imported fossil fuels in electricity | About 25% | Nearly 50% without wind, solar PV and bioenergy |
| China coal supply imports | About 10% | Fuel-supply measure |
| China natural-gas supply imports | Nearly 40% | Fuel-supply measure |
| China electricity-supply import dependence | 7% | Approached 25% without post-2010 non-hydro renewables |
| Brazil electricity import dependence | Not stated as observed here | Approached 30% in Low-RES |
Source: IEA, “Renewable electricity – Renewables 2025”.
Globally, the Low-RES scenario represents about 8,000 TWh of additional coal and gas fuel inputs in 2023. The IEA expresses that as roughly 700 million tonnes of coal and 400 billion cubic metres of natural gas, about 10% of 2023 global consumption of those fuels.
The same modelled scenario estimates that fuel-importing countries would have spent approximately $1.3 trillion more on coal and gas imports from 2010 through 2023. These are scenario results based on historical fossil-fuel price trends, not observed spending.
Energy Independence Investment and Public Renewable Use
Investment trends show the scale of infrastructure choices behind energy independence. The IEA estimated global energy investment at $2.8 trillion in 2023, including more than $1.7 trillion for clean energy and slightly over $1 trillion for unabated fossil-fuel supply and power.
Key global investment measures for 2023 were:
- About 15% of unabated fossil-fuel investment went to coal; the remainder was mainly oil and gas.
- Clean-energy investment was $1.70 for every $1 invested in fossil fuels.
- Clean-energy investment rose 24% from 2021 to the 2023 estimate, compared with 15% growth for fossil-fuel investment.
- Solar investment was expected to total $380 billion.
- Low-emissions power was expected to account for almost 90% of electricity-generation investment.
Source: IEA, “Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2023”.
Public-sector renewable use provides a more specific deployment measure. U.S. federal agencies used 6,566,958 MWh of renewable electricity in FY2023, equal to 12.7% of their 51,837,189 MWh of total electricity use.
Within federal renewable electricity, wind supplied 2,829,774 MWh, or 43.1%, and solar PV supplied 2,447,051 MWh, or 37.3%. On-site federal renewable electricity totaled 1,340,560 MWh in FY2023—nearly twice FY2015 and six times FY2010.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, “Federal Agency Use of Renewable Electric Energy”.
DOE’s federal accounting includes physical renewable electricity and qualifying renewable-energy instruments, including RECs. The federal totals therefore measure agency renewable-electricity use under that accounting framework, not electricity physically generated only on federal sites.