Google and Microsoft consume more energy than most countries.
Along with their revenues, the energy consumption of tech giants is also increasing. According to a new analysis, Google and Microsoft currently consume more energy than over 100 countries.
The electricity consumption footprints of tech giants continue to grow each day. Particularly in today’s emphasis on productive artificial intelligence, newly established data centers consume much more energy than their predecessors. According to a recent analysis, Google and Microsoft’s energy consumption now surpasses that of over 100 countries out of the world’s total of 206 countries.
Google and Microsoft consume as much electricity as Azerbaijan
According to the analysis in 2023, Google and Microsoft each consumed 24 TWh of electricity, surpassing the consumption of over 100 countries including Azerbaijan, Iceland, Ghana, and Tunisia. Azerbaijan, with its population of approximately 10 million, matches the giants’ consumption at 24 TWh, while Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and Tunisia consumed 19 TWh, and Jordan consumed 20 TWh. For context, Turkey’s energy consumption stands at 280 TWh.
Google and Microsoft’s combined electricity consumption of 48 TWh surpasses that of most countries worldwide, with each company also outpacing countries in terms of economic output. Excluding Ireland ($533 billion) and Nigeria ($473 billion), all countries listed have GDPs lower than the revenues of Google and Microsoft.
In 2023, Google earned $305.6 billion, while Microsoft earned $211.9 billion. Azerbaijan, with similar energy consumption, had a GDP of $78 billion in 2023. Slovakia, which consumes more energy, has a GDP of $172 billion, and Iceland’s GDP is around $30 billion. This illustrates how much greater economic output these companies generate compared to their energy consumption.
