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The world by renewable energy use, mapped

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Data collated by Anchor Pumps has revealed the countries that love renewable energy.

Figures from the World Bank, based on the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) database, ranked each country by the proportion of renewable energy that made up each country's 'total final energy consumption'.

Total final energy consumption covers all energy supplied to the final consumer, for all energy uses.

Using this data between 1992 and 2016 the manufacturers Anchor Pumps combined 14,000 data records to find the countries relying on renewable forms of energy.

indy100 has created a map of the renewable energy users in 2016.

Green planet

Topping the list is Somalia. Of the country's final energy consumption, 94 per cent was renewable energy.

The country has made large investments into renewable energy, in part due to the high cost of electricity.

In 2016, one kilowatt of electricity cost $1 (USD). For context, in 2011 a kWh cost 12 cents in the United States, and 20 cents in the United Kingdom.

Since the civil war, the country has developed an energy plan from scratch.

Strong winds from the Gulf of Aden have made them well placed to invest in off-shore wind farms, and their position on the Equator is perfect for solar panels.

Shunning renewables

Countries using the lowest proportion of renewable energy are the fifteen nations which use less than 1 per cent, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. As these are gulf states, who’s economies are largely run on money from oil sales, it makes sense that their governments might not be keen on the use of renewable energy.

Of countries which do use renewable energy, but still not much, include the USA on 9 per cent, Japan on 6 per cent and Russia on 3 per cent.

In the UK, 7 per cent of final energy consumed in 2016 was renewable.

Changes in Europe

Liechtenstein was the most improved country, rising from 0 per cent in 1992 to 62 per cent in 2016.

Similarly Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina also made the largest steps towards use of renewable energy.

Norway and Turkey were both using a smaller proportion of renewable energy in 2016 than they did in 1992. In Norway this was 2 per cent less, and in Turkey 13 per cent less.

The UK had increased from close to 1 per cent in 1992 to just over 7 per cent in 2016.

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