Between 2000 and 2004, electricity production increased in all parts of the world, nowhere faster that in Asia and the Pacific, where it grew at an average annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent.

In the growth rate of electricity production, the Asian and Pacific region is followed by Africa, with 5.5 per cent, and Latin America, with 2.9 per cent. Europe and North America increased electricity generation at an average annual rate of 1.8 and 0.6 per cent, respectively, during the same period. These figures show that the developing regions have increased their electricity production at a much higher rate than the developed regions.

Asia and the Pacific generates more electricity than any other region of the world. It generates about 1.5 times as much electricity as North America, twice as much as Europe, six times as much as Latin America and the Caribbean and ten times as much as Africa.

Figure 27.1 Electricity production in the regions of the world, 2004

Per capita consumption of electricity in Asia and the Pacific, however, was 291 kilowatt-hours, the lowest except only for Africa. During the period 2000-2004, the Asian and Pacific region also had the highest annual rate of growth in per capita electricity consumption, 3.3 per cent, which is above the world average.

Between 2000 and 2004, per capita electricity consumption increased among all groups of countries within Asia and the Pacific except landlocked developing countries. The least developed countries recorded the highest annual rate of increase, at 8.6 per cent, while Central Asia recorded minor annual growth, at 0.1 per cent. The low- and middle-income countries had nearly 5 per cent annual growth in per capita electricity consumption. The high-income countries, on the other hand, increased consumption at an annual rate of just above 2 per cent.

Per capita electricity consumption varies widely in the countries of Asia and the Pacific. Although electricity production in China is the highest in the region, per capita consumption in the country is quite low, at 189 kilowatt-hours in 2004. Brunei Darussalam has the highest level of per capita consumption, at 3,167 kilowatt-hours, which is above the level of the developed countries of the region and more than ten times the average consumption level of the region. Other large per capita consumers are Guam; Niue; Singapore; Azerbaijan; Hong Kong, China; and Macao, China.

Figure 27.2 The 20 Asian and Pacific countries/areas with the highest per capita electricity consumption, 2000 and 2004

Between 1990 and 2004, total energy consumption per capita increased in all regions of the world. With an annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent, Asia and the Pacific more than doubled its energy consumption per capita, measured in kilograms of oil equivalent, during this period. Africa and Europe increase per capita energy consumption by over 50 per cent, whereas the increase in Latin America and the Caribbean and North America was just over 40 per cent. All of these regions had an annual growth rate of about 3 per cent in per capita energy consumption between 1990 and 2004.

Figure 27.3 Energy consumption per capita in the regions of the world, 1990 and 2004

Within Asia and the Pacific, high-income countries consume about ten times as much energy per capita as low-income countries and three times as much as middle-income countries. Small island developing States are an exception in the region in that per capital energy consumption decreased between 1990 and 2004.

Figure 27.4 Energy consumption per capita in selected Asian and Pacific country/area groupings, 1990-2004

Between 1990 and 2004, per capita energy consumption in the Republic of Korea and Macao, China, nearly doubled; in China and Hong Kong, China, it almost quadrupled. Mongolia was the only country in East and North-East Asia in which per capita energy consumption fell.

The most dramatic increase took place in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recorded per capita energy consumption of 26 kilograms of oil equivalent in 1990. With an annual growth rate of over 34.1 per cent, per capita energy consumption in this country had reached 1,604 kilograms of oil equivalent by 2004. Cambodia, Samoa and Viet Nam were the other countries where per capita energy consumption increased at striking rates. In 1990, Cambodia consumed 3 kilograms of oil equivalent per person; by 2004, the consumption level was 165, and the most significant increase took place between 2000 and 2004, when per capita energy consumption grew at an annual rate of nearly 78 per cent. In the same period, energy consumption increased in Samoa from 8 to 249 kilograms of oil equivalent and in Viet Nam from 15 to 547.

Energy use per unit of GDP indicates the energy intensity of production. A declining trend for this indicator can be due to changes in the structure of the economy or to an increase in energy efficiency. In all regions of the world, energy intensity declined between 1990 and 2004. Asia and the Pacific experienced the second highest decline in the world, at an annual rate of 1.3 per cent between 2000 and 2004.

Figure 27.5 Average annual growth rate of energy supply, apparent consumption per unit of GDP in the regions of the world, 2000-2004

Figure 27.6 Energy supply, apparent consumption per unit of GDP in Asia and the Pacific, 2000 and 2004

During the same period, all groups of countries within Asia and the Pacific reduced energy intensity, with the exception of small island developing States and the ASEAN region. Among Asian and Pacific countries for which energy intensity data is available, Uzbekistan recorded the highest figures, at 1,203 kilograms of oil equivalent per $1,000 of GDP in 2004. This figure is about eight times the level of energy intensity in Japan and could be due to low level of economic activity in this country. Hong Kong, China, on the other hand, has the lowest energy intensity figure for 2004, at 85. This reflects the importance of services and the small contribution of industry in Hong Kong, China.