Hydropower produced 4,452.9 TWh worldwide in 2024, supplying 14.31% of global electricity generation. Installed hydropower capacity reached 1,443 GW, but generation and capacity measure different things: rainfall, reservoirs and dispatch affect how much electricity plants actually produce.
Key Hydropower Statistics
The most useful global, regional and development figures are:
- In 2024, 4,452.9 TWh of hydroelectricity was generated worldwide.
- In 2024, hydropower supplied 14.31% of global electricity generation.
- From 2014 to 2024, global hydroelectric generation grew at an annual rate of 1.4%.
- In 2024, global hydroelectric generation increased 4.2% from 2023.
- In 2024, non-OECD economies generated 3,013.9 TWh of hydroelectricity, or 67.7% of the world total.
- In 2024, OECD economies generated 1,439.1 TWh of hydroelectricity, or 32.3% of the world total.
- At the end of 2024, global hydropower capacity reached 1,443 GW, including conventional and pumped-storage capacity.
- In 2024, 24.6 GW of global hydropower capacity was added.
- In 2024, pumped-storage hydropower accounted for 8.4 GW of additions worldwide.
- In 2024, China’s hydro generation increased by 130 TWh, or 11% from 2023.
- In 2024, Canada generated 343.2 TWh of hydroelectricity, equal to 7.7% of the world total.
- In 2024, Brazil generated 413.2 TWh of hydroelectricity, equal to 9.3% of the world total.
- In 2024, North America generated 605.5 TWh of hydroelectricity, equal to 13.6% of the world total.
- In 2024, the European Union generated 368.5 TWh of hydroelectricity, equal to 8.3% of the world total.
- In 2024, more than 400 pumped-storage projects were operating worldwide.
- In the 2025 outlook, the global hydropower development pipeline exceeded 1,075 GW.
- Through 2030, more than 26 GW of hydropower capacity per year was estimated to be needed for a net-zero pathway.
- To 2050, approximately US$3.7 trillion of cumulative investment was estimated to be required to double hydropower capacity.
Contents
- Global hydropower generation statistics and trends
- Hydropower capacity statistics and annual additions
- Regional hydropower generation data
- Country hydropower output statistics
- Pumped-storage hydropower statistics
- Hydropower pipelines, investment and targets
Global Hydropower Generation Statistics and Trends
The Energy Institute reports 4,452.9 TWh of gross primary hydroelectric generation worldwide in 2024, up 4.2% from 2023. Its series grew at a 1.4% annual rate from 2014 to 2024, and it excludes cross-border supply accounting. Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025
Ember reports a closely related but different 2024 estimate of 4,416 TWh, an increase of 182 TWh, or 4.3%, from 2023. Ember puts hydropower’s electricity share at 14.31% in 2024, compared with 14.27% in 2023, and says 2024 generation was 2% above the previous record set in 2020.
The two sources should not be mechanically combined. Ember also estimates that capacity was 7% higher in 2024 than in 2020 while generation was only 2% higher, indicating lower capacity factors during that comparison. Global Electricity Review 2025
| Economy group | 2024 generation | Share of world total |
|---|---|---|
| Non-OECD | 3,013.9 TWh | 67.7% |
| OECD | 1,439.1 TWh | 32.3% |
The Energy Institute classifications show that non-OECD economies produced most global hydroelectricity in 2024, while OECD economies produced nearly one-third. These are gross primary generation figures, not a measure of electricity access or household adoption.
Hydropower Capacity Statistics and Annual Additions
The International Hydropower Association (IHA) reports 1,443 GW of total hydropower capacity in 2024. This includes 1,253 GW of conventional hydropower and 189 GW of pumped storage, so the components should not be treated as an alternative generation total. 2025 World Hydropower Outlook
Global capacity additions reached 24.6 GW in 2024, consisting of 16.2 GW of conventional hydropower and 8.4 GW of pumped-storage capacity. Installed capacity is nameplate potential; TWh is actual electricity produced, and the two measures respond differently to hydrology and system operation.
IRENA reports 1,283,041 MW of renewable hydropower capacity excluding pumped storage at the end of 2024. It also reports 15.0 GW of renewable hydropower additions and 1.2% capacity growth in 2024, but its scope differs from IHA’s overall total. Renewable capacity statistics 2025
| IRENA region | Renewable hydropower capacity at end-2024 | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 561,804 MW | Excludes pumped storage |
| Africa | 39,325 MW | Excludes pumped storage |
IRENA capacity figures generally reflect capacity installed and connected at calendar-year end. IRENA’s 2024 aggregate generation data are preliminary, and pumped-storage treatment differs by table.
Regional Hydropower Generation Data
Regional totals show why a single global trend can conceal different hydrological and operating conditions. The Energy Institute’s groupings are not identical to IHA’s regional definitions.
| Region | 2024 hydro generation | World share | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 605.5 TWh | 13.6% | -3.0% |
| South and Central America | 735.7 TWh | 16.5% | -2.8% |
| European Union | 368.5 TWh | 8.3% | +11.8% |
| Europe, IHA grouping | 680 TWh | Not stated | Decade high |
The European Union figure comes from the Energy Institute, while the 680 TWh Europe figure is an IHA grouping and is not directly interchangeable with the EU total. For historical context, North America generated 677.14 TWh in 2014 and South and Central America generated 679.25 TWh in 2014. Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025
Asia-Pacific produced 16,132 TWh of total electricity in 2024, or 52% of global electricity production. That statistic covers all electricity sources, not hydropower alone, so it should not be read as a regional hydroelectricity total. Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025
Country Hydropower Output Statistics
China was the largest stated contributor to the 2024 global increase: Ember attributes 71% of the year-on-year rise to China, where hydro generation increased 130 TWh, or 11%. Rainfall and existing capacity both affected that output. Global Electricity Review 2025
| Country | 2024 hydro generation | World share | Recent movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 413.2 TWh | 9.3% | -3.3% in 2024; +1.0% annual growth, 2014–2024 |
| Canada | 343.2 TWh | 7.7% | -5.1% in 2024; -1.1% annual growth, 2014–2024 |
| United States | 238.7 TWh | 5.4% | 2024 level |
These country figures are gross primary hydroelectric generation from the Energy Institute. They are not electricity-access or household-adoption measures. Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025
Other 2024 movements were mixed: Mexico generated 23.5 TWh, up 13.9%; Chile generated 26.5 TWh, up 12.9%; and Peru generated 32.0 TWh, up 9.8%. Colombia generated 54.5 TWh, down 9.2%, while Ecuador generated 22.6 TWh, down 11.0%.
Pumped-Storage Hydropower Statistics and Flexibility
Pumped storage is a storage technology, not simply another generation category. IHA says it supplied more than 90% of global stored energy and that more than 400 pumped-storage projects were operating worldwide in 2024.
China added 7.75 GW of pumped-storage capacity in 2024. Globally, pumped storage represented 8.4 GW of the 24.6 GW hydropower capacity increase, and IHA reported nearly 200 GW of pumped-storage capacity plus more than 90% of long-duration energy storage worldwide. 2025 World Hydropower Outlook
The IHA 2025 Outlook estimates a 600 GW global pumped-storage development pipeline. This is a development estimate, not committed or operating capacity, and the storage share is not a share of electricity generation.
Hydropower Pipelines, Investment and Targets
The IHA 2025 Outlook places the global hydropower development pipeline above 1,075 GW, including 475 GW of conventional hydropower. Projects can be at different development stages, so this pipeline is not a forecast of completed capacity.
IHA estimates that hydropower capacity would need to grow by just over 26 GW per year through 2030 to remain on a net-zero pathway. That is a pathway requirement, not an observed construction rate.
| IHA scenario or policy measure | Figure | Period or status |
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative investment to double capacity | Approximately US$3.7 trillion | To 2050; scenario estimate |
| Annualized investment implied by that scenario | About US$130 billion per year | To 2050; not recorded spending |
| Africa new hydropower commissioning | 4.5 GW | 2024; observed |
| Global Storage Pledge support | 58 governments | 2024–2025; policy support count |
IHA says Africa’s 2024 commissioning volume was more than double its previous three-year development level, although the exact comparison base was not stated. The 58-government pledge count measures policy support, not hydropower generation, capacity or guaranteed investment.
The IHA investment figures are scenario-based requirements, while the pipeline figures are estimates of projects at differing stages. They describe possible or required future deployment rather than observed completions or guaranteed spending.