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Our World in DataLine chart · 72 points · Our World in Data

Where the world's electricity comes from

The numbers behind a chart Our World in Data published, redrawn natively. Check the original, study the data, then make your own.

Estimated from the image 39%All chart data
Chart by Our World in Data. Source: x.com

Simplified redraw

Drawn by us from the numbers below. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys.

A simplified redraw: it shows the numbers in our own look, not the look of the original. One accent marks what the chart is about. Values marked with ~ in the table are estimates.

The numbers

First 10 of 72 points are free
GroupSeriesxValueSourceConf.
1985Fossil fuels1985~63%Estimate0.80
1985Renewables1985~21%Estimate0.80
1985Nuclear1985~15%Estimate0.80
1990Fossil fuels1990~63%Estimate0.30
1990Renewables1990~19%Estimate0.30
1990Nuclear1990~17%Estimate0.30
1995Fossil fuels1995~63.5%Estimate0.65
1995Renewables1995~19%Estimate0.80
1995Nuclear1995~17%Estimate0.80
2000Fossil fuels2000~65%Estimate0.30

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2000Renewables2000~18%Estimate0.30
2000Nuclear2000~16%Estimate0.30
2005Fossil fuels2005~66.5%Estimate0.65
2005Renewables2005~17.5%Estimate0.65
2005Nuclear2005~14.5%Estimate0.65
2010Fossil fuels2010~66%Estimate0.30
2010Renewables2010~20%Estimate0.30
2010Nuclear2010~13%Estimate0.30
2015Fossil fuels2015~63.5%Estimate0.65
2015Renewables2015~23.5%Estimate0.65
2015Nuclear2015~10.5%Estimate0.65
2020Fossil fuels2020~61%Estimate0.30
2020Renewables2020~28%Estimate0.30
2020Nuclear2020~10%Estimate0.30
2023Fossil fuels2023~60%Estimate0.80
2023Renewables2023~30%Estimate0.80
2023Nuclear2023~9%Estimate0.80
1987Fossil fuels1987~63%Estimate0.30
1989Fossil fuels1989~64%Estimate0.30
1991Fossil fuels1991~63%Estimate0.30
1993Fossil fuels1993~62%Estimate0.30
1997Fossil fuels1997~64%Estimate0.30
1999Fossil fuels1999~65%Estimate0.30
2001Fossil fuels2001~66%Estimate0.30
2003Fossil fuels2003~65%Estimate0.30
2007Fossil fuels2007~66%Estimate0.30
2009Fossil fuels2009~67%Estimate0.30
2011Fossil fuels2011~66%Estimate0.30
2013Fossil fuels2013~65%Estimate0.30
2017Fossil fuels2017~63%Estimate0.30
2019Fossil fuels2019~62%Estimate0.30
2021Fossil fuels2021~61%Estimate0.30
1987Renewables1987~20%Estimate0.30
1989Renewables1989~19%Estimate0.30
1991Renewables1991~18%Estimate0.30
1993Renewables1993~19%Estimate0.30
1997Renewables1997~19%Estimate0.30
1999Renewables1999~18%Estimate0.30
2001Renewables2001~18%Estimate0.30
2003Renewables2003~17%Estimate0.30
2007Renewables2007~18%Estimate0.30
2009Renewables2009~19%Estimate0.30
2011Renewables2011~20%Estimate0.30
2013Renewables2013~22%Estimate0.30
2017Renewables2017~26%Estimate0.30
2019Renewables2019~27%Estimate0.30
2021Renewables2021~28%Estimate0.30
1987Nuclear1987~16%Estimate0.30
1989Nuclear1989~17%Estimate0.30
1991Nuclear1991~17%Estimate0.30
1993Nuclear1993~17%Estimate0.30
1997Nuclear1997~17%Estimate0.30
1999Nuclear1999~16%Estimate0.30
2001Nuclear2001~16%Estimate0.30
2003Nuclear2003~15%Estimate0.30
2007Nuclear2007~13%Estimate0.30
2009Nuclear2009~13%Estimate0.30
2011Nuclear2011~12%Estimate0.30
2013Nuclear2013~10%Estimate0.30
2017Nuclear2017~10%Estimate0.30
2019Nuclear2019~10%Estimate0.30
2021Nuclear2021~9%Estimate0.30
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On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 4488ceb149e9.

Approximate values. Our two readings of this chart agreed only in part (confidence 0.39 of 1), so check the original before you quote a number. The API marks it lowConfidence, and ?min_confidence=0.5 leaves it out.

See the Max planAPI docs
PathReturnsPlan
GET/api/v1/charts/4488ceb149e9Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data linkOpen
GET/api/v1/charts/4488ceb149e9/dataEvery point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSVMax
GET/api/v1/charts/4488ceb149e9/render?view=1The draw-only view this page usesOpen
POST/mcpTool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agentsMax
curlMax
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/4488ceb149e9/data \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"
Claude CodeMax
claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"

60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.

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Questions people ask

How accurate are these numbers?

They are estimated from the image by two independent passes, with confidence 0.39 on a 0 to 1 scale. Printed numbers read well; values read off an axis can be a few percent off.

Can I reuse this data?

The numbers describe a chart that Our World in Data published. The image, layout and styling belong to them. Use the numbers with a credit to the publisher, and make your picture from your own data.

How do I get the file?

The JSON, CSV and agent skill file are under the email gate on this page. In this prototype they are static files at /api/charts/4488ceb149e9.json and /api/charts/4488ceb149e9.skill.md.