Bitcoin Mining Now Consuming More Electricity Than 159 Countries Including Ireland & Most Countries In Africa

The map above shows which countries consume less electricity than the amount consumed by global bitcoin mining

Bitcoin’s ongoing meteoric price rise has received the bulk of recent press attention with a lot of discussion around whether or not it’s a bubble waiting to burst.

However, most the coverage has missed out one of the more interesting and unintended consequences of this price increase. That is the surge in global electricity consumption used to “mine” more Bitcoins.

According to Digiconomist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, as of Monday November 20th, 2017 Bitcoin’s current estimated annual electricity consumption stands at 29.05TWh.

That’s the equivalent of 0.13% of total global electricity consumption. While that may not sound like a lot, it means Bitcoin mining is now using more electricity than 159 individual countries (as you can see from the map above). More than Ireland or Nigeria.

If Bitcoin miners were a country they’d rank 61st in the world in terms of electricity consumption.

Here are a few other interesting facts about Bitcoin mining and electricity consumption:

In the past month alone, Bitcoin mining electricity consumption is estimated to have increased by 29.98%

If it keeps increasing at this rate, Bitcoin mining will consume all the world’s electricity by February 2020 .

. Estimated annualised global mining revenues: $7.2 billion USD (£5.4 billion)

Estimated global mining costs: $1.5 billion USD (£1.1 billion)

Number of Americans who could be powered by bitcoin mining: 2.4 million (more than the population of Houston)

All maps created using Mapchart.net. For the full breakdown of data, please keep reading.

Bitcoin Mining Electricity Consumption Vs Countries

The map at the top of the page shows, which countries currently consume more or less electricity than that consumed by global Bitcoin mining.

The map below shows how much more or less bitcoin mining energy consumption compares to each countries energy usage with 100% being equal.

E.g. Ireland currently consumes an estimated 25 TWh of electricity per year, so global Bitcoin mining consumption is 116%, or 16% more than they consume. The UK consumes an estimated 309 TWh of electricity per year so global Bitcoin mining consumption is only equivalent to 9.4% of the UK total.

Global Bitcoin Mining consumption compared to each country’s electricity consumption

The map below shows which countries in Europe consume more or less electricity than Bitcoin mining:

Which European countries consume more or less electricity than the amount consumed by global bitcoin mining

As mentioned, above the data for Bitcoin mining energy consumption comes from the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index. You can read about their assumptions here.

Electricity consumption data mostly comes from the CIA via Wikipedia and is mostly for 2014, since that’s the most recent year available. Unlike some other sources it includes, residential, commercial and industrial use, so may be higher than other figures quoted elsewhere.

Below we have a table showing the data we used for each country:

Rank Country Electricity Consumption in kWh/year Bitcoin Mining Consumption Relative To Country's Use 1 China 5,920,000,000,000.00 0.49% 2 United States 3,913,000,000,000.00 0.74% 3 Russia 1,065,000,000,000.00 2.73% 4 India 1,001,191,000,000.00 2.90% 5 Japan 934,000,000,000.00 3.11% 6 Germany 533,000,000,000.00 5.45% 7 Canada 528,000,000,000.00 5.50% 8 Brazil 518,000,000,000.00 5.61% 9 Korea, South 495,000,000,000.00 5.87% 10 France 431,000,000,000.00 6.74% 11 United Kingdom 309,000,000,000.00 9.40% 12 Italy 291,000,000,000.00 9.98% 13 Saudi Arabia 272,000,000,000.00 10.68% 14 Taiwan 249,500,000,000.00 11.64% 15 Mexico 238,000,000,000.00 12.21% 16 Spain 234,000,000,000.00 12.41% 17 Australia 224,000,000,000.00 12.97% 18 Iran 218,000,000,000.00 13.33% 19 South Africa 212,000,000,000.00 13.70% 20 Turkey 207,000,000,000.00 14.03% 21 Indonesia 195,000,000,000.00 14.90% 22 Thailand 164,000,000,000.00 17.71% 23 Egypt 143,000,000,000.00 20.31% 24 Ukraine 143,000,000,000.00 20.31% 25 Poland 142,000,000,000.00 20.46% 26 Malaysia 131,000,000,000.00 22.18% 27 Sweden 127,000,000,000.00 22.87% 28 Norway 126,400,000,000.00 22.98% 29 Vietnam 125,000,000,000.00 23.24% 30 Argentina 116,000,000,000.00 25.04% 31 Netherlands 108,000,000,000.00 26.90% 32 United Arab Emirates 96,000,000,000.00 30.26% 33 Kazakhstan 91,000,000,000.00 31.92% 34 Philippines 90,797,891,000.00 31.99% 35 Pakistan 82,000,000,000.00 35.43% 36 Finland 81,000,000,000.00 35.86% 37 Belgium 81,000,000,000.00 35.86% 38 Venezuela 78,000,000,000.00 37.24% 39 Austria 69,750,000,000.00 41.65% 40 Chile 66,000,000,000.00 44.02% 41 Czech Republic 60,000,000,000.00 48.42% 42 Colombia 60,000,000,000.00 48.42% 43 Israel 59,830,000,000.00 48.55% 44 Switzerland 58,000,000,000.00 50.09% 45 Kuwait 54,000,000,000.00 53.80% 46 Greece 53,000,000,000.00 54.81% 47 Algeria 49,000,000,000.00 59.29% 48 Romania 48,000,000,000.00 60.52% 49 Uzbekistan 48,000,000,000.00 60.52% 50 Singapore 47,180,000,000.00 61.57% 51 Portugal 46,000,000,000.00 63.15% 52 Bangladesh 46,000,000,000.00 63.15% 53 Hong Kong 42,000,000,000.00 69.17% 54 Iraq 42,000,000,000.00 69.17% 55 New Zealand 40,000,000,000.00 72.63% 56 Peru 39,000,000,000.00 74.49% 57 Qatar 34,000,000,000.00 85.44% 58 Belarus 33,000,000,000.00 88.03% 59 Denmark 32,000,000,000.00 90.78% 60 Bulgaria 31,000,000,000.00 93.71% 61 Morocco 29,000,000,000.00 100.17% 62 Slovakia 28,360,000,000.00 102.43% 63 Serbia 26,910,000,000.00 107.95% 64 Bahrain 25,000,000,000.00 116.20% 65 Ireland 25,000,000,000.00 116.20% 66 Oman 25,000,000,000.00 116.20% 67 Nigeria 24,000,000,000.00 121.04% 68 Hungary 21,550,000,000.00 134.80% 69 Ecuador 21,000,000,000.00 138.33% 70 Azerbaijan 20,000,000,000.00 145.25% 71 Puerto Rico 19,000,000,000.00 152.89% 72 Iceland 17,000,000,000.00 170.88% 73 Syria 17,000,000,000.00 170.88% 74 Croatia 16,970,000,000.00 171.18% 75 Jordan 16,000,000,000.00 181.56% 76 Lebanon 16,000,000,000.00 181.56% 77 Dominican Republic 15,140,000,000.00 191.88% 78 Tunisia 15,000,000,000.00 193.67% 79 Cuba 15,000,000,000.00 193.67% 80 Korea, North 15,000,000,000.00 193.67% 81 Slovenia 13,000,000,000.00 223.46% 82 Turkmenistan 13,000,000,000.00 223.46% 83 Tajikistan 12,000,000,000.00 242.08% 84 Mozambique 12,000,000,000.00 242.08% 85 Kyrgyzstan 11,000,000,000.00 264.09% 86 Sri Lanka 11,000,000,000.00 264.09% 87 Zambia 11,000,000,000.00 264.09% 88 Bosnia and Herzegovina 11,000,000,000.00 264.09% 89 Myanmar 11,000,000,000.00 264.09% 90 Uruguay 10,000,000,000.00 290.50% 91 Lithuania 9,900,000,000.00 293.43% 92 Sudan 9,900,000,000.00 293.43% 93 Georgia 9,800,000,000.00 296.43% 94 Paraguay 9,700,000,000.00 299.48% 95 Libya 9,300,000,000.00 312.37% 96 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 9,300,000,000.00 312.37% 97 Costa Rica 9,200,000,000.00 315.76% 98 Ghana 9,200,000,000.00 315.76% 99 Trinidad and Tobago 9,100,000,000.00 319.23% 100 Guatemala 8,915,000,000.00 325.86% 101 Estonia 8,200,000,000.00 354.27% 102 Angola 8,100,000,000.00 358.64% 103 Zimbabwe 8,000,000,000.00 363.13% 104 Panama 7,800,000,000.00 372.44% 105 Albania 7,793,000,000.00 372.77% 106 Kenya 7,600,000,000.00 382.24% 107 Bolivia 7,500,000,000.00 387.33% 108 Macedonia 6,960,000,000.00 417.39% 109 Latvia 6,800,000,000.00 427.21% 110 Ethiopia 6,700,000,000.00 433.58% 111 Luxembourg 6,200,000,000.00 468.55% 112 Cameroon 6,100,000,000.00 476.23% 113 Ivory Coast 5,800,000,000.00 500.86% 114 El Salvador 5,700,000,000.00 509.65% 115 Mongolia 5,600,000,000.00 518.75% 116 Honduras 5,300,000,000.00 548.11% 117 West Bank 5,200,000,000.00 558.65% 118 Yemen 5,200,000,000.00 558.65% 119 Armenia 5,100,000,000.00 569.61% 120 Tanzania 5,000,000,000.00 581.00% 121 Afghanistan 4,700,000,000.00 618.09% 122 Macau 4,500,000,000.00 645.56% 123 Nicaragua 4,412,000,000.00 658.43% 124 Moldova 4,305,000,000.00 674.80% 125 Cambodia 4,100,000,000.00 708.54% 126 Laos 3,900,000,000.00 744.87% 127 Nepal 3,900,000,000.00 744.87% 128 Cyprus 3,900,000,000.00 744.87% 129 Brunei 3,766,000,000.00 771.38% 130 Botswana 3,700,000,000.00 785.14% 131 Namibia 3,700,000,000.00 785.14% 132 Papua New Guinea 3,000,000,000.00 968.33% 133 Senegal 3,000,000,000.00 968.33% 134 Kosovo 2,887,000,000.00 1006.23% 135 Montenegro 2,800,000,000.00 1037.50% 136 Jamaica 2,800,000,000.00 1037.50% 137 Uganda 2,700,000,000.00 1075.93% 138 Mauritius 2,600,000,000.00 1117.31% 139 Gabon 2,100,000,000.00 1383.33% 140 Bhutan 2,085,000,000.00 1393.29% 141 New Caledonia 2,000,000,000.00 1452.50% 142 Malta 2,000,000,000.00 1452.50% 143 Suriname 1,900,000,000.00 1528.95% 144 Malawi 1,900,000,000.00 1528.95% 145 Bahamas 1,600,000,000.00 1815.63% 146 Guam 1,500,000,000.00 1936.67% 147 Swaziland 1,500,000,000.00 1936.67% 148 Mali 1,400,000,000.00 2075.00% 149 Liechtenstein 1,360,000,000.00 2136.03% 150 Madagascar 1,300,000,000.00 2234.62% 151 Burkina Faso 1,200,000,000.00 2420.83% 152 Niger 1,200,000,000.00 2420.83% 153 Togo 1,100,000,000.00 2640.91% 154 Benin 1,000,000,000.00 2905.00% 155 Curacao 968,000,000.00 3001.03% 156 Congo, Republic of the 900,000,000.00 3227.78% 157 Guinea 900,000,000.00 3227.78% 158 Barbados 900,000,000.00 3227.78% 159 Mauritania 800,000,000.00 3631.25% 160 Lesotho 800,000,000.00 3631.25% 161 Guyana 800,000,000.00 3631.25% 162 Fiji 800,000,000.00 3631.25% 163 Aruba 800,000,000.00 3631.25% 164 French Polynesia 700,000,000.00 4150.00% 165 South Sudan 694,100,000.00 4185.28% 166 Jersey 630,100,000.00 4610.38% 167 Bermuda 600,000,000.00 4841.67% 168 Cayman Islands 600,000,000.00 4841.67% 169 U.S. Virgin Islands 600,000,000.00 4841.67% 170 Marshall Islands 600,000,000.00 4841.67% 171 Andorra 562,400,000.00 5165.36% 172 Rwanda 500,000,000.00 5810.00% 173 Burundi 400,000,000.00 7262.50% 174 Belize 400,000,000.00 7262.50% 175 Djibouti 400,000,000.00 7262.50% 176 Haiti 400,000,000.00 7262.50% 177 Seychelles 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 178 Somalia 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 179 Saint Lucia 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 180 Antigua and Barbuda 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 181 Cabo Verde 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 182 Eritrea 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 183 Faroe Islands 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 184 Gambia 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 185 Greenland 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 186 Liberia 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 187 Maldives 300,000,000.00 9683.33% 188 Chad 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 189 Saint Kitts and Nevis 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 190 Central African Republic 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 191 Sierra Leone 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 192 Turks and Caicos Islands 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 193 Gibraltar 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 194 Grenada 200,000,000.00 14525.00% 195 Micronesia, Federated States of 178,600,000.00 16265.40% 196 Timor-Leste 125,300,000.00 23184.36% 197 British Virgin Islands 100,000,000.00 29050.00% 198 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 100,000,000.00 29050.00% 199 American Samoa 100,000,000.00 29050.00% 200 Samoa 100,000,000.00 29050.00% 201 Equatorial Guinea 91,140,000.00 31874.04% 202 Dominica 90,210,000.00 32202.64% 203 Western Sahara 83,700,000.00 34707.29% 204 Solomon Islands 79,050,000.00 36748.89% 205 Sao Tome and Principe 65,100,000.00 44623.66% 206 Vanuatu 55,800,000.00 52060.93% 207 Tonga 46,500,000.00 62473.12% 208 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 41,850,000.00 69414.58% 209 Comoros 40,920,000.00 70992.18% 210 Guinea-Bissau 31,620,000.00 91872.23% 211 Cook Islands 31,620,000.00 91872.23% 212 Kiribati 27,900,000.00 104121.86% 213 Nauru 23,250,000.00 124946.24% 214 Montserrat 21,390,000.00 135811.13% 215 Falkland Islands 13,950,000.00 208243.73% 216 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 9,300,000.00 312365.59% 217 Niue 3,720,000.00 780913.98% 218 Gaza Strip 202,000.00 14381188.12% 219 Northern Mariana Islands 48,300.00 60144927.54%

Bitcoin Mining Electricity Consumption Vs US States

While doing the research we also though it might be interesting to compare Bitcoin mining energy consumption to US states. So we created the map below:

Overall, 12 States consume less electricity than Bitcoin Mining (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming).

The data for this section comes from the EIA and is for 2015 and uses total retail sales. Please note this data set uses MWh instead of kWh.

State Total retail sales (MWh) Bitcoin Mining Consumption Relative To State's Use Alabama 88,845,543.00 33% Alaska 6,159,204.00 472% Arizona 77,349,416.00 38% Arkansas 46,465,154.00 63% California 261,170,437.00 11% Colorado 54,116,046.00 54% Connecticut 29,476,155.00 99% Delaware 11,498,205.00 253% District of Columbia 11,291,233.00 257% Florida 235,599,398.00 12% Georgia 135,878,215.00 21% Hawaii 9,511,352.00 305% Idaho 23,058,814.00 126% Illinois 138,619,970.00 21% Indiana 104,514,518.00 28% Iowa 47,147,293.00 62% Kansas 39,849,127.00 73% Kentucky 76,038,630.00 38% Louisiana 91,676,489.00 32% Maine 11,888,168.00 244% Maryland 61,781,719.00 47% Massachusetts 54,621,088.00 53% Michigan 102,479,921.00 28% Minnesota 66,579,234.00 44% Mississippi 48,691,529.00 60% Missouri 81,504,081.00 36% Montana 14,206,911.00 204% Nebraska 29,495,073.00 98% Nevada 36,019,690.00 81% New Hampshire 10,999,149.00 264% New Jersey 75,489,623.00 38% New Mexico 23,093,553.00 126% New York 148,913,655.00 20% North Carolina 133,847,523.00 22% North Dakota 18,128,948.00 160% Ohio 149,213,224.00 19% Oklahoma 61,336,385.00 47% Oregon 47,263,974.00 61% Pennsylvania 146,344,028.00 20% Rhode Island 7,664,718.00 379% South Carolina 81,328,246.00 36% South Dakota 12,101,979.00 240% Tennessee 99,632,108.00 29% Texas 392,337,354.00 7% Utah 30,192,350.00 96% Vermont 5,521,109.00 526% Virginia 112,009,045.00 26% Washington 90,116,086.00 32% West Virginia 32,303,026.00 90% Wisconsin 68,698,932.00 42% Wyoming 16,924,762.00 172%

Growth of Bitcoin Mining Electricity Consumption

While Bitcoin Mining is only currently consuming 0.13% of the world’s electricity output, it’s growing incredibly quickly.

The Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimates consumption has increased by 29.98% over the past month. If that growth rate were to continue, and countries did not add any new power generating capacity, Bitcoin mining would:

Be greater than UK electricity consumption by October 2018 (309 TWh)

Be greater than US electricity consumption by July 2019 (3,913 TWh)

Consume all the world’s electricity by February 2020. (21,776 TWh)

The Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimates that the total annual cost of mining Bitcoins stands at $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion).

However, that assumes Bitcoin mining is occurring in places with cheap electricity (not an unreasonable assumption).

The US average retail price per kilowatthour is 10.41 cents, which means using 28.05 TWh would cost: $3.02 billion (£2.28 billion).

In the UK it would even more expensive, assuming you paid the rock bottom price of 10.10 pence per kilowatthour (Bulb’s prices for London homes) it would still cost £2.93 billion ($3.89 billion).

Interestingly, Bitcoin’s price increase over the last month has been just over 40%, which is greater than the increase in electricity consumption.

This means the estimated annualised global mining revenues now stand at $7.2 billion USD (£5.4 billion), which even at the more expensive estimates listed above, means it’s still very profitable.

How Does Bitcoin Mining Consume Electricity?

At a very basic level Bitcoin mining requires expensive and power hungry computer hardware. As the the IEEE explains:

Mining power is high and getting higher, thanks to a computational arms race. Recall that the required number of zeros at the beginning of a hash is tweaked biweekly to adjust the difficulty of creating a block—and more zeros means more difficulty. The Bitcoin algorithm adds these zeros in order to keep the rate at which blocks are added constant, at one new block every 10 minutes. The idea is to compensate for the mining hardware becoming more and more powerful. When the hashing is harder, it takes more computations to create a block and thus more effort to earn new bitcoins, which are then added to circulation.

To better understand how this whole process works have a look at Investopedia’s guide.

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