Electricity generation per person in the United Kingdom has fallen by more than a third since its peak in 2003. Globally, generation per person has grown by more than 50% this century, but the UK has moved in the opposite direction. Today, levels are back to where they were in the late 1960s, as shown in the chart of generation per person since 1920.
Part of the decline reflects changes in electricity imports rather than demand. Net imports rose from 1% of electricity demand in 2010 to 9% in 2025. Still, the UK consumes much less electricity than it used to. The most common explanation is deindustrialization, as the economy shifted from manufacturing to services. That is part of the story, but not all of it. International Energy Agency data shows industrial electricity consumption has fallen by one-quarter since 2005, but residential and commercial use has dropped by just as much.
Energy efficiency has also played a major role. The shift from incandescent to LED lightbulbs and the introduction of efficiency standards for appliances have reduced demand alongside the decline in industry.
The piece also notes that global extreme poverty has fallen sharply, with China reducing extreme poverty from over 90% of its population in the early 1980s to nearly zero by the early 2020s. Indonesia has followed a similar path, with extreme poverty falling from 86% in 1984 to less than 4% by 2025, using the international line of $3 per day.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing