Data centers account for 8.9% of total power consumption in the United States, the highest share of any region tracked in a Visual Capitalist chart based on data from the International Energy Agency's Energy and AI Observatory. The figure is based on average electricity demand for each hour, measured in gigawatts.

The U.S. share is well ahead of other major economies. Data centers represent 5.1% of power demand in the United Kingdom and 4.8% in the European Union, followed by Australia and New Zealand at 3.7% and Japan and South Korea at 3.2%. China stands at 2.3%, and Canada at 1.4%. Several regions, including Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America, register below half of one percent.

The chart notes that the U.S. has 53.7 gigawatts of installed data center capacity, far more than any other country. Visual Capitalist reports that by 2028, data centers could drive a projected 12% of U.S. electricity demand, which would put further pressure on utilities and grid operators already managing rising large-load requests.

The concentration is sharper at the state level. In Virginia, data centers account for 26% of state power consumption, nearly triple the national average, according to the analysis. The state's leading utility expected to connect 15 new data centers during the year the chart was published. The figures highlight how a handful of U.S. markets carry a large portion of the country's data center electricity load, and why power availability has become a central factor in where new facilities are built.

Source: Visual Capitalist - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-power-do-data-centers-use/