Country energy profile · Australia · 2025
What percentage of Australia’s energy comes from fossil fuels?
In 2025, fossil fuels supplied 92.1% of Australia’s total energy. Oil is its largest single source. That compares with a world average of 86.2%.
Oil 40.5%, natural gas 25.2%, coal 26.4% · non-fossil 7.9%.
Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025 data. Site updated September 02, 2026.
Australia energy mix, 2025
Share of total primary energy by source
Key facts
| Fossil-fuel share | 92.1% |
| World average | 86.2% |
| Main fossil fuel | Oil |
| Change since 2010 | -5.9 pts |
| Fossil energy per person | 188.8 GJ |
| CO₂ per person | 13.9 t |
| Fossil share of electricity | 59.9% |
| World rank, fossil energy used | #15 of 80 |
Is Australia getting less dependent on fossil fuels?
Fossil-fuel share of total energy since 1965, with the absolute amount of fossil fuel used. Share and volume can move in opposite directions.
Fossil share vs. consumption
Left axis: % of primary energy · Right axis: exajoules (EJ)
Oil vs. gas vs. coal in Australia
Consumption by fuel, 1965–2025
Exajoules (EJ) per year
Total energy vs. electricity
Australia’s electricity has a lower fossil share than its overall energy use, because transport, heating and industry still lean heavily on oil, gas and coal.
Total energy
| Fossil share | 92.1% |
| Oil | 40.5% |
| Gas | 25.2% |
| Coal | 26.4% |
Electricity
| Fossil share | 59.9% |
| Low-carbon share | 39.8% |
| Nuclear + hydro | 4.4% |
| Wind + solar + other renewables | 35.4% |
What households pay for electricity in Australia
Households on the National Electricity Market paid about 40 Australian cents per kilowatt-hour as of Jan–Mar 2025 (25.1 US cents, about 1.5× the U.S. average for the same period). That is the latest quarter in the Australian Energy Regulator's most recent State of the Energy Market edition; the AER publishes this data once a year.
Effective household price, National Electricity Market
Australian cents per kWh, median market offer ÷ average consumption, unweighted mean of 13 distribution networks
Source: Australian Energy Regulator, State of the Energy Market, chapter 6 data (median market offers from Energy Made Easy and Victorian Energy Compare; consumption from regulatory information notices). Nominal prices. Covers the eastern states, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT; Western Australia and the Northern Territory are separate systems outside this data.
The longer record: electricity in the CPI since 1980
ABS Consumer Price Index, electricity, Australia, calendar-year averages of the quarterly index (nominal)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, CPI series for electricity (weighted average of eight capital cities). The index measures out-of-pocket prices, so the declines in 2024–2025 reflect Commonwealth and state energy bill rebates rather than falling underlying prices.
Two periods stand out in the long record. The index roughly doubled between 2007 and 2013 (+102%), the years of heavy network investment. From 2019 to 2025 it rose just +4% in nominal terms, with rebates holding down what households actually paid in the last two years. Compare Australia with other countries on the household electricity prices page.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of Australia's energy comes from fossil fuels?
In 2025, fossil fuels supplied about 92.1% of Australia's total primary energy: oil 40.5%, natural gas 25.2% and coal 26.4%. The world average is 86.2%.
What is Australia's main energy source?
Australia's largest fossil fuel is oil. Non-fossil sources make up 7.9% of its energy.
Is Australia reducing its dependence on fossil fuels?
Since 2010, Australia's fossil-fuel share of energy has fallen by 5.9 percentage points, to 92.1%.
How much of Australia's electricity comes from fossil fuels?
About 59.9% of Australia's electricity came from fossil fuels in 2025, versus 92.1% of its total energy. Electricity is usually the lower-carbon of the two.
Compare with other countries
Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, 2025 data (annual series back to 1965). See methodology.