Largest hydropower producing countries 2023

In 2023, China was the leading country in terms of hydroelectricity generation worldwide with approximately 1,245.17 terawatt hours generated from hydro sources. In comparison, Russia's hydropower facilities generated some 197.41 terawatt hours of energy that year.

Hydropower capacity

Brazil and Canada led the world in hydropower generation in 2023 after China, totaling 431.28 terawatt hours and 365.39 terawatt hours, respectively. In 2023, about 28 percent of the total hydropower energy consumption worldwide occurred in China. Over three-quarters of the country’s electric power supply relies on hydroelectric power. In 2022, China added 13 gigawatts of hydropower capacity.

Hydroelectricity in Brazil

Much of Brazil’s hydropower potential arises from the northern Amazon River basin. However, the majority of the country’s population lives along the eastern coast as well as the southern parts of the River. The distance and separation of the majority of the country’s hydroelectric resources and its demand has caused some reliability issues. For example, the 2014 drought led to many blackouts in various regions across the nation. A Belo Monte dam along the Xingu River was completed in 2019 and will be the second-largest hydroelectric dam in Brazil. Currently, the Itaipu Dam, located between Brazil and Paraguay along the Paraná River, is the second-largest dam in the world and has a generating capacity of 14,000 megawatts. However, the construction of large new hydroelectric power plants can create environmental impacts that alter important ecosystems, such as altering the primary flow of water systems.