Edition 2020
Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) 2020
Published 2020 · the period it describes is not stated by the publisher · stored as published, never rewritten
This is how much electricity a solar panel would generate in a country: the kilowatt-hours a day produced by one kilowatt of panels in a typical solar farm, averaged over the country’s usable land and many years of weather. It measures the sunshine a country has to work with, not what it has built.
Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) 2020 covers 209 countries on 3 measures. Namibia is highest, at 5.3791; Ireland is lowest, at 2.5126. The middle country reads 4.2728.
Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) · Edition 2020
HighestNamibia
5.3791
LowestIreland
2.5126Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.
01Values only
The table
Every country and every column of Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) 2020, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 209 countries · select a heading to sort
NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa | 5.3791 | 6.4047 | 1.1716 | — |
 ChileCHLSouth America | 5.3647 | 5.7583 | 1.7559 | up to parallel 45°S |
 JordanJORWestern Asia | 5.3150 | 6.0177 | 1.4125 | — |
 EgyptEGYNorthern Africa | 5.2467 | 6.2591 | 1.3142 | — |
 YemenYEMWestern Asia | 5.2137 | 6.4675 | 1.4058 | — |
 OmanOMNWestern Asia | 5.1683 | 6.2779 | 1.3377 | — |
 Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia | 5.1588 | 6.2080 | 1.2111 | — |
 LesothoLSOSouthern Africa | 5.1349 | 5.5414 | 1.1699 | — |
 LibyaLBYNorthern Africa | 5.1243 | 6.1345 | 1.3315 | — |
 BotswanaBWASouthern Africa | 5.1069 | 6.0674 | 1.2137 | — |
 IsraelISRWestern Asia | 5.0763 | 5.7536 | 1.5279 | — |
 AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia | 5.0159 | 5.4904 | 1.6665 | — |
 MoroccoMARNorthern Africa | 5.0065 | 5.5632 | 1.3053 | — |
 United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia | 5.0043 | 6.0454 | 1.1793 | — |
 South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 5.0036 | 5.6293 | 1.2286 | — |
 ArubaABWCaribbean | 4.9646 | 6.1098 | 1.1803 | — |
 SudanSDNNorthern Africa | 4.9432 | 6.3227 | 1.4209 | — |
 BoliviaBOLSouth America | 4.9421 | 5.4239 | 1.2610 | — |
 PalestinePSEWestern Asia | 4.9348 | 5.6094 | 1.6342 | — |
 MexicoMEXCentral America | 4.9241 | 5.7277 | 1.3312 | — |
 QatarQATWestern Asia | 4.9174 | 5.8988 | 1.2303 | — |
 AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa | 4.9167 | 5.9225 | 1.3487 | — |
 IranIRNSouthern Asia | 4.9159 | 5.5238 | 1.5063 | — |
 PeruPERSouth America | 4.9010 | 5.1463 | 1.3556 | — |
 EritreaERIEastern Africa | 4.8948 | 6.0715 | 1.4326 | — |
 BahrainBHRWestern Asia | 4.8686 | 5.7502 | 1.2990 | — |
 Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean | 4.8683 | 5.8376 | 1.2135 | — |
 ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa | 4.8611 | 5.7810 | 1.2749 | — |
 British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean | 4.8547 | 5.7560 | 1.2159 | — |
 SyriaSYRWestern Asia | 4.8542 | 5.4529 | 1.7688 | — |
 ChadTCDMiddle Africa | 4.8374 | 6.2617 | 1.3778 | — |
 NigerNERWestern Africa | 4.8370 | 6.2647 | 1.2360 | — |
 CuraçaoCUWCaribbean | 4.8332 | 5.9645 | 1.1810 | — |
 LebanonLBNWestern Asia | 4.8315 | 5.3556 | 1.9685 | — |
 ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 4.8281 | 5.8834 | 1.3924 | — |
 El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 4.8272 | 5.9155 | 1.3285 | — |
 KiribatiKIRMicronesia | 4.8231 | 6.1258 | 1.1944 | — |
 KuwaitKWTWestern Asia | 4.8155 | 5.6764 | 1.3106 | — |
 DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa | 4.7972 | 6.0575 | 1.3586 | — |
 Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean | 4.7696 | 5.7543 | 1.1877 | — |
 SomaliaSOMEastern Africa | 4.7617 | 6.0283 | 1.4981 | — |
 MadagascarMDGEastern Africa | 4.7579 | 5.6252 | 1.3059 | — |
 MongoliaMNGEastern Asia | 4.7573 | 4.3193 | 1.8633 | — |
 United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean | 4.7504 | 5.6868 | 1.2073 | — |
 MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa | 4.7491 | 6.0378 | 1.1962 | — |
 TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa | 4.7445 | 5.3011 | 1.4779 | — |
 Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean | 4.7221 | 5.5994 | 1.2254 | — |
 BarbadosBRBCaribbean | 4.7151 | 5.7734 | 1.1710 | — |
 PakistanPAKSouthern Asia | 4.7126 | 5.3411 | 1.3674 | — |
 AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand | 4.7071 | 5.7587 | 1.4737 | — |
 CyprusCYPWestern Asia | 4.6983 | 5.2104 | 1.8572 | — |
 EthiopiaETHEastern Africa | 4.6954 | 5.8501 | 1.5797 | — |
 Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa | 4.6823 | 5.6364 | 1.3394 | — |
 IraqIRQWestern Asia | 4.6783 | 5.4649 | 1.5638 | — |
 HaitiHTICaribbean | 4.6766 | 5.5361 | 1.1474 | — |
 MaliMLIWestern Africa | 4.6763 | 6.0178 | 1.2363 | — |
 AngolaAGOMiddle Africa | 4.6586 | 5.7467 | 1.3211 | — |
 Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia | 4.6546 | 5.5614 | 1.3183 | — |
 NauruNRUMicronesia | 4.6510 | 5.8795 | 1.1792 | — |
 Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean | 4.6456 | 5.5789 | 1.2333 | — |
 Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean | 4.6273 | 5.5632 | 1.3016 | — |
 MalawiMWIEastern Africa | 4.6006 | 5.5937 | 1.3821 | — |
 ArgentinaARGSouth America | 4.5992 | 5.1243 | 1.6247 | up to parallel 45°S |
 SenegalSENWestern Africa | 4.5835 | 5.7981 | 1.2806 | — |
 Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa | 4.5701 | 5.8073 | 1.2627 | — |
 Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 4.5698 | 5.4198 | 1.1867 | — |
 GambiaGMBWestern Africa | 4.5690 | 5.7477 | 1.3353 | — |
 MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 4.5618 | 5.0071 | 2.0342 | — |
 BahamasBHSCaribbean | 4.5481 | 5.3607 | 1.2899 | — |
 CubaCUBCaribbean | 4.5409 | 5.4139 | 1.2519 | — |
 GuamGUMMicronesia | 4.5320 | 5.5734 | 1.3097 | — |
 Saint LuciaLCACaribbean | 4.5225 | 5.3959 | 1.1766 | — |
 TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa | 4.5067 | 5.6567 | 1.3104 | — |
 KenyaKENEastern Africa | 4.5042 | 5.7800 | 1.3822 | — |
 Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa | 4.4666 | 5.6971 | 1.4135 | — |
 UgandaUGAEastern Africa | 4.4616 | 5.6431 | 1.2401 | — |
 Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa | 4.4576 | 5.6043 | 1.3895 | — |
 South SudanSSDEastern Africa | 4.4569 | 5.6788 | 1.4025 | — |
 GrenadaGRDCaribbean | 4.4519 | 5.4136 | 1.2198 | — |
 MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia | 4.4418 | 5.5933 | 1.3429 | — |
 GuineaGINWestern Africa | 4.4374 | 5.5734 | 1.3842 | — |
 MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa | 4.4350 | 5.3819 | 1.2337 | — |
 SpainESPSouthern Europe | 4.4127 | 4.5754 | 1.9320 | — |
 BrazilBRASouth America | 4.4042 | 5.2762 | 1.3414 | — |
 Puerto RicoPRICaribbean | 4.3964 | 5.2681 | 1.1771 | — |
 French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia | 4.3941 | 5.2558 | 1.2404 | — |
 JamaicaJAMCaribbean | 4.3858 | 5.2107 | 1.1761 | — |
 GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 4.3855 | 5.2525 | 1.3697 | — |
 TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia | 4.3678 | 4.7217 | 2.0853 | — |
 United StatesUSANorthern America | 4.3584 | 4.4984 | 1.8847 | up to parallel 60°N |
 VenezuelaVENSouth America | 4.3545 | 5.3497 | 1.2605 | — |
 Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean | 4.3490 | 5.3849 | 1.1873 | — |
 SeychellesSYCEastern Africa | 4.3476 | 5.6284 | 1.2210 | — |
 TajikistanTJKCentral Asia | 4.3406 | 4.5133 | 2.4573 | — |
 Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia | 4.3391 | 5.3165 | 1.5401 | — |
 TürkiyeTURWestern Asia | 4.3232 | 4.5979 | 2.4065 | — |
 IndiaINDSouthern Asia | 4.3220 | 5.0978 | 1.7469 | — |
 EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa | 4.3186 | 4.8493 | 1.1572 | — |
 PortugalPRTSouthern Europe | 4.3155 | 4.5656 | 2.0659 | — |
 UruguayURYSouth America | 4.3043 | 4.7898 | 1.6540 | — |
 NigeriaNGAWestern Africa | 4.2977 | 5.4364 | 1.3962 | — |
 ComorosCOMEastern Africa | 4.2856 | 5.0535 | 1.2003 | — |
 ParaguayPRYSouth America | 4.2814 | 5.0765 | 1.4517 | — |
 CameroonCMRMiddle Africa | 4.2771 | 5.2957 | 1.4422 | — |
 Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean | 4.2728 | 5.1861 | 1.2374 | — |
 SurinameSURSouth America | 4.2690 | 5.3777 | 1.3342 | — |
 UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia | 4.2688 | 4.5128 | 2.4776 | — |
 TuvaluTUVPolynesia | 4.2668 | 5.3376 | 1.2250 | — |
 HondurasHNDCentral America | 4.2629 | 5.1649 | 1.3638 | — |
 DR CongoCODMiddle Africa | 4.2556 | 5.1879 | 1.3000 | — |
 Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia | 4.2382 | 5.3744 | 1.1974 | — |
 MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 4.2148 | 5.0132 | 1.3604 | — |
 Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 4.2118 | 5.2770 | 1.4289 | — |
 AndorraANDSouthern Europe | 4.1990 | 4.0490 | 2.1531 | — |
 BeninBENWestern Africa | 4.1978 | 5.3253 | 1.4134 | — |
 GuyanaGUYSouth America | 4.1959 | 5.2123 | 1.2941 | — |
 BermudaBMUNorthern America | 4.1838 | 4.7291 | 1.7820 | — |
 BelizeBLZCentral America | 4.1768 | 5.0491 | 1.3431 | — |
 BurundiBDIEastern Africa | 4.1723 | 5.1899 | 1.3202 | — |
 GreeceGRCSouthern Europe | 4.1430 | 4.4501 | 2.3675 | — |
 MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia | 4.1414 | 4.6943 | 1.8282 | — |
 CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia | 4.1250 | 5.0913 | 1.3551 | — |
 TogoTGOWestern Africa | 4.1243 | 5.2179 | 1.4116 | — |
 KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 4.1149 | 4.1140 | 2.6533 | — |
 NicaraguaNICCentral America | 4.1085 | 5.0415 | 1.3595 | — |
 ArmeniaARMWestern Asia | 4.1063 | 4.2241 | 2.4078 | — |
 RwandaRWAEastern Africa | 4.1021 | 5.0756 | 1.2195 | — |
 Costa RicaCRICentral America | 4.0930 | 4.8909 | 1.4367 | — |
 Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa | 4.0862 | 5.1185 | 1.4584 | — |
 ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 4.0646 | 4.9348 | 1.4849 | — |
 SamoaWSMPolynesia | 4.0529 | 4.7821 | 1.2534 | — |
 ColombiaCOLSouth America | 4.0492 | 4.8670 | 1.2776 | — |
 AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe | 4.0426 | 4.1954 | 2.3266 | — |
 GhanaGHAWestern Africa | 4.0203 | 5.0959 | 1.3914 | — |
 TongaTONPolynesia | 4.0078 | 4.8045 | 1.4284 | — |
 PalauPLWMicronesia | 4.0050 | 4.9776 | 1.3045 | — |
 Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 3.9999 | 5.0545 | 1.4071 | — |
 NepalNPLSouthern Asia | 3.9960 | 4.5344 | 1.5872 | — |
 ItalyITASouthern Europe | 3.9933 | 4.0721 | 2.3586 | — |
 American SamoaASMPolynesia | 3.9826 | 4.9163 | 1.3005 | — |
 New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia | 3.9764 | 4.5737 | 1.3703 | — |
 DominicaDMACaribbean | 3.9702 | 4.9429 | 1.2988 | — |
 PanamaPANCentral America | 3.9655 | 4.7445 | 1.4209 | — |
 PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 3.9324 | 4.7316 | 1.4902 | — |
 BhutanBTNSouthern Asia | 3.9158 | 3.9397 | 1.6063 | — |
 North KoreaPRKEastern Asia | 3.9158 | 3.8578 | 1.4600 | — |
 BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia | 3.9009 | 4.8409 | 1.1982 | — |
 MicronesiaFSMMicronesia | 3.8880 | 4.7468 | 1.2155 | — |
 LiberiaLBRWestern Africa | 3.8833 | 4.8758 | 1.4058 | — |
 ChinaCHNEastern Asia | 3.8825 | 4.1265 | 1.6704 | — |
 North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe | 3.8814 | 4.0494 | 2.4675 | — |
 BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia | 3.8806 | 4.5955 | 1.4717 | — |
 LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia | 3.8709 | 4.4847 | 1.6182 | — |
 AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia | 3.8177 | 4.0422 | 2.0975 | — |
 MontenegroMNESouthern Europe | 3.8174 | 3.8614 | 2.3220 | — |
 South KoreaKOREastern Asia | 3.8163 | 3.9865 | 1.4204 | — |
 CanadaCANNorthern America | 3.8155 | 3.2515 | 3.0875 | up to parallel 60°N |
 FijiFJIMelanesia | 3.8151 | 4.3159 | 1.1737 | — |
 IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia | 3.7674 | 4.6245 | 1.3179 | — |
 Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa | 3.7669 | 4.8604 | 1.2819 | — |
 San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe | 3.7595 | 3.9336 | 2.6023 | — |
 MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia | 3.7399 | 4.7060 | 1.3214 | — |
 GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia | 3.7084 | 3.7245 | 2.2406 | — |
 BulgariaBGREastern Europe | 3.7028 | 3.8729 | 2.6413 | — |
 KosovoXKXSouthern Europe | 3.6959 | 3.8542 | 2.6972 | — |
 Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia | 3.6919 | 4.4832 | 1.3586 | — |
 Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia | 3.6894 | 4.4017 | 1.2783 | — |
 KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia | 3.6850 | 3.8227 | 4.6254 | — |
 New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand | 3.6774 | 3.5396 | 1.8447 | — |
 Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa | 3.6671 | 4.6000 | 1.3689 | — |
 CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe | 3.6306 | 3.7370 | 2.9073 | — |
 GabonGABMiddle Africa | 3.6024 | 4.5444 | 1.3878 | — |
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 3.5697 | 3.6591 | 2.7264 | — |
 VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 3.5544 | 4.2521 | 1.7401 | — |
 SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia | 3.5513 | 4.4924 | 1.2648 | — |
 VanuatuVUTMelanesia | 3.5305 | 4.3046 | 1.4571 | — |
 RomaniaROUEastern Europe | 3.5236 | 3.5742 | 3.0688 | — |
 SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 3.5203 | 3.6762 | 2.9930 | — |
 São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa | 3.4681 | 4.2979 | 1.3583 | — |
 MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 3.4493 | 3.5516 | 3.5245 | — |
 JapanJPNEastern Asia | 3.4456 | 3.6144 | 2.0543 | — |
 HungaryHUNEastern Europe | 3.4402 | 3.5222 | 3.4827 | — |
 SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe | 3.4345 | 3.4522 | 2.8709 | — |
 MacauMACEastern Asia | 3.4041 | 4.0875 | 1.5678 | — |
 EcuadorECUSouth America | 3.4015 | 4.3049 | 1.3669 | — |
 FranceFRAWestern Europe | 3.3861 | 3.4825 | 2.9690 | — |
 SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe | 3.3639 | 3.3567 | 3.2750 | — |
 RussiaRUSEastern Europe | 3.3552 | 3.1178 | 6.7024 | up to parallel 60°N |
 UkraineUKREastern Europe | 3.2962 | 3.3505 | 4.5491 | — |
 Hong KongHKGEastern Asia | 3.2718 | 3.9050 | 1.4685 | — |
 SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe | 3.2655 | 3.2518 | 3.5711 | — |
 AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 3.2571 | 3.2138 | 3.1889 | — |
 LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe | 3.2454 | 3.1691 | 3.1478 | — |
 CzechiaCZEEastern Europe | 3.0481 | 3.0809 | 3.8963 | — |
 PolandPOLEastern Europe | 2.9844 | 2.9770 | 4.8957 | — |
 GermanyDEUWestern Europe | 2.9608 | 2.9777 | 4.3721 | — |
 BelarusBLREastern Europe | 2.9485 | 2.9377 | 6.4875 | — |
 LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe | 2.9478 | 3.0173 | 4.3895 | — |
 BelgiumBELWestern Europe | 2.9164 | 2.9436 | 3.9838 | — |
 LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe | 2.8704 | 2.8246 | 7.6884 | — |
 NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe | 2.8647 | 2.8649 | 4.3346 | — |
 LatviaLVANorthern Europe | 2.8531 | 2.7733 | 8.8003 | — |
 DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe | 2.8434 | 2.7671 | 6.3164 | — |
 SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 2.8373 | 2.6867 | 7.8520 | up to parallel 60°N |
 EstoniaESTNorthern Europe | 2.8369 | 2.7161 | 11.1862 | — |
 Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe | 2.7637 | 2.7203 | 6.0459 | — |
 NorwayNORNorthern Europe | 2.7612 | 2.5833 | 14.9727 | up to parallel 60°N |
 United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe | 2.6127 | 2.5918 | 5.1346 | — |
IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 2.5126 | 2.5330 | 4.4904 | — |
02In Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) 2020
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Lowest
- Ireland2.5126
- United Kingdom2.6127
- Norway2.7612
- Isle of Man2.7637
- Estonia2.8369
Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 4.2728. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
03Caveats
Read before you use
The period is not stated
ESMAP does not say which year the figures in this edition describe, so none is given here.
208 distinct values among 209
Values are stored exactly as published, to 4 decimals. 2 countries share 3.9158. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
202 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
04The files
Download and cite
- .csv
For a spreadsheet or code
209 rows · 9.0 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download solar-pv-potential-2020-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
ESMAP’s own file, on its own site.
solargis_pvpotential_countryranking_2020_data.xlsx
What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full
Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words
Cite this edition
World Bank Group (ESMAP), data by Solargis (2020). Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT) 2020 [data set]. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/solar-pv-potential/2020
051 held
Other editions
‹ The edition before
This is the first edition held here.
The edition after ›
This is the newest edition; the next will get a page of its own.
All of them
Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT): every edition1 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country