Uzbekistan
UZBUzbekistan has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
Low-carbon electricity went from 8% to 19% in 5 years.
What this grid depends on
Three measures that say more about a country than how much power it makes. Open “what this means” on any of them if the term is new.
Among the most carbon-heavy electricity anywhere.
What this means
How much planet-warming gas is released to make one unit of electricity. Two countries can generate exactly the same amount and one of them be ten times dirtier doing it. Lower is better.
Uzbekistan buys in more electricity than it sends out.
What this means
The share of the electricity used here that was generated abroad and carried in over high-voltage lines. The higher it climbs, the more this country relies on a neighbour to keep its lights on.
A mix of fuel produced at home and fuel bought in.
What this means
How much of what this grid runs on the country can supply itself. Sun, wind and water count fully, because nobody can cut them off; coal, gas and oil only as far as the country digs them up. A high score is not the same as a good grid: mining your own coal scores well, importing uranium scores badly.
Uzbekistan’s neighbours
KazakhstanGas overtook hydro on Kazakhstan's grid in 2011.
TurkmenistanTurkmenistan is first in the world for gas.
TajikistanTajikistan gets next to none of its electricity from gas, in a region built on it.
KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan uses far more electricity per person than countries at its income level.
AfghanistanAfghanistan generates no gas electricity at all, in a region built on it.
Figures are for 2025, the most recent year reported for Uzbekistan. Generation shares are a percentage of electricity generated, not of energy used. How this is calculated.