Renewable Energy Jobs Statistics By Region, Employees, Sector And Trends (2026)

Overview

Renewable Energy Jobs Statistics: With the start of 2026, renewable energy remains a potent engine of job creation globally. The global demand for renewable energy jobs has increased, leading to the creation of more job opportunities and benefits for the economy, along with government and corporate strategies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

This article discusses renewable energy jobs statistics in 2025, including an upsurge in solar, wind, and other sectors, growth effects with regard to salary, geography of employment, and outlooks, among others.

What Caught the Editor’s Eye

1. The expanding global renewable energy market is expected to reach more than 2 trillion U.S. dollars by 2030 due to concerns regarding the environmental effects of fossil fuels, urbanization, and the development of third-world economies.
2. The growth of the renewable energy market will, in turn, encourage more investment and growth of cleaner energy.
3. Renewable energy jobs statistics show that global employment in the renewable energy sector stood at approximately 16.6 million in 2025, compared to 7.4 million in 2014.
4. The sector employing the most people is the solar photovoltaics industry, which makes the most significant contributions.
5. More than any other country, China has the highest number of workers employed in renewable power, with an estimated 7.4 million jobs, followed by the European Union and Brazil, with 1.8 million and 1.56 million jobs, respectively.
6. Renewable energy employment statistics show that in the renewable energy industry, the number of people who are employed globally in the year 2022 stood at 13.7 million, an increment of one million from the previous year.
7. The largest share came from the solar photovoltaic industry which created 4.9 million jobs through bioenergy, hydropower, and wind.
8. The country having the largest renewable energy employment is China, with more than 5.5 million jobs, thanks to the development of oriented solar and wind energy sectors.
9. Concerning biofuels, the number of jobs is 1.4 million for Brazil, while the European Union has created 1.6 million jobs. Energy-related jobs tend to vary across different geographical areas and industries.
10. In a mature OECD coal supply economy, a coal supply worker makes around 66,390 dollars as opposed to workers in oil and natural gas who earn about 88,320 dollars, like those working in solar photovoltaics, known to earn close to 65,615 dollars, at all levels of the workforce.
11. Renewable energy jobs statistics indicate that in low-income countries, a coal supply player makes roughly USD 23,516, and a worker in solar PV makes approximately USD 33,779. IRENA states that there is a possibility of more than 40 million workers employed in the global renewable energy sector as early as 2050.
12. The targets set for growth in solar energy and energy storage services are expected to be the major contributors to the increasing employment levels, focusing on production, installations, and service provision.
13. Moreover, the use of electric-powered automobiles and green buildings will increase employment in their associated industries.

Renewable Energy Market Value

(Reference: statista.com)

• It is predicted that the renewable energy market at a global scale will still present significant growth in the future, with projections indicating that it will control more than two trillion U.S. dollars by the year 2030.
• There are several reasons why such growth can be foreseen, including increasing worries about the environmental effects of using fossil fuels, increasing urbanization, and growth rates in the developing regions of the world, in particular.
• These factors are encouraging greater investment and development activity in the renewable energy sector, illuminating the ongoing transformation across the world to more efficient energy systems in order to improve supply availability.
• Renewable energy jobs statistics indicate that in the year 2024, nearly 585 gigawatts (GW) of fresh renewable electricity generation capability were installed globally, which has raised the total installed capacity to 4,448 GW, an increase of 15.1%, this continued into 2025, with a further 692 GW added, bringing cumulative global renewable capacity to 5,149 GW.
• This was the highest growth ever recorded for the annual growth of installed capacity. In solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity alone, a staggering 347 GW was deployed, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,411 GW; this figure already overtakes that of hydropower, which is 1,265 GW in capacity.
• The subsequent order was for wind power, which installed almost all of its capacity, 1,347 GW, in its facilities, and 169 GW of it was installed in 2023.
• Many of the other renewables, such as bioenergy, have less installed capacity and contribute about 149 GW.
• Apart from only producing electricity, solar thermal capacity was more than 560 gigawatts thermal by the end of 2023; this is equivalent to 800 million square meters of collector area.
• The installed solar thermal capacity from the year 2000 to 2023 grew close to nine times, although, for recent years, the installed annual additions have been lower than half the maximum height of the annual increase, which was in the year 2013.
• Production of liquid biofuels had a total output of 175.2 billion liters in 2023, compared to 162 billion liters in 2021, with about two-thirds being Ethanol.

Number Of Renewable Energy Jobs

(Reference: statista.com)

• Renewable energy jobs statistics state that as of 2024, global employment in the renewable energy sector reached approximately 16.6 million, demonstrating a consistent increase over the last ten years.
• The number of jobs in this industry has more than doubled since 2012, when the total was around 7.4 million in 2024.
• In 2023, solar photovoltaics remained the largest employer within the industry, outpacing all other forms of renewable energy technologies in terms of job creation.
• The unrelenting rise in employment levels in the renewable energy sector shows the increased emphasis placed on clean energy sources and their potential for enhancing the economies of various countries.

Renewable Energy Jobs by Region

(Reference: statista.com)

• As per renewable energy jobs statistics, there were more than 16.2 million jobs around the world in the renewable energy industry in the year 2023.
• China is the most job-worthy country when it comes to the jobs in the renewable energy industry, as there are around 7.4 million jobs in this particular field. Hence, it is the country that provides employment to the largest number of people in the renewable energy industry.
• The high employment rate in this area is a result of the country’s heavy spending on wind energy development and the manufacturing and consumption of green energy technologies.
• The European Union and Brazil have 1812 thousand and 1567 thousand jobs in the renewable energy sector.

Renewable Energy Global Employees

(Reference: statista.com)

• Renewable energy jobs statistics reveal that in 2024, the renewable energy industry reached a global employment figure of 16.6 million, which corresponds to an additional one million jobs over the immediately preceding year.
• As depicted in the graph, the number of people working in renewable energy has increased progressively in each of the employment sectors since the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) started making annual reports in 2012.
• Within the employment sector, the solar photovoltaic industry was the highest contributor to employment numbers, creating 7.4 million jobs within the industry by 2024, with bioenergy, hydropower, and wind energy following suit.
• In terms of the increase in the number of workers employed in the industry, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera describes the year 2022 as “exceptional” for the growth of jobs in the renewable energy sector, adding that the prospects of creating millions of additional jobs could only materialize if investment in energy transition technologies were made at a much higher level.

Renewable Energy Employees by Sector

(Reference: statista.com)

• In 2024, Renewable energy jobs statistics conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency indicate that over 16.6 million people work in the renewable energy industry annually worldwide.
• Out of this, nearly five million people are engaged in solar photovoltaics, which refers to the technology that converts sunlight into electricity.
• The solar sector is unique since there are also an additional 710,000 people engaged in professions in solar thermal science, which comprises heating or cooling using WTS.
• Next to solar, bioenergy, which consists of liquid biofuels, solid biomass, and biogas, accounts for approximately 3.6 million jobs.
• Employment in the hydropower industry, which is the highest renewable resource in the globe at present, stands at around two and a half million workers.
• Ever since IRENA commenced its analyses in the year 2024, the number of persons employed in the industry has risen to 16.6 million.
• In 2024, China has well over 7.3 million jobs in the renewable energy sector, the most of any nation, thanks to its expansive solar and wind energy employment.
• In biofuels, Brazil has 1.3 million jobs, while in the renewables space, the European Union has around 1.8 million jobs.

Average Earnings of a Worker

(Source: iea.org)

Renewable energy jobs statistics indicate that in 2025, the average annual earnings of a person working in the energy sector differ inter-regionally and inter-sectorally. The International Energy Agency (IEA) gives some data on this:

Advanced Economies:

• Coal supply: About USD 66,390.
• Oil and natural gas supply: About USD 88,320.
• Solar photovoltaic (PV): Around USD 65,615.
• Wind: About USD 70,802.

Emerging Markets and Developing Economies:

• Coal supply: A little over USD 23,516.
• Oil and natural gas supply: Approximately USD 43,107.
• Solar PV: About USD 33,779.
• Wind energy: approximately USD 38,384.

Other Renewable Energy Jobs Statistics

• Last year, there was an increase in salary adjustments, which made so many employees in the renewable energy sector, 73%, expect to get a raise within the next year.
• Renewable energy jobs statistics show that the percentage of renewable energy firms providing international job relocation services has increased from 59% in 2026.
• There has been an 11% increase in employees willing to relocate for lifestyle and cost-of-living reasons, while the motivation to change jobs for career progression has reduced slightly from 58% to 53%.
• In the last year, 32% of employees working in renewable energy were contacted and offered higher positions in other companies, with 13% of them having more than 16 job offers.
• 25% of these calls were made by companies that did or did not specialize in renewable energy. Furthermore, 88% of the respondents in the survey indicated they would be ready to change jobs.
• The invitation to do so thresholds accommodation, comparatively in this case, due to ambitions and desire to immerse in the course of other business activities.

Recent Renewable Energy Jobs Statistics

• In January 2025, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported that global renewable energy employment reached a record 16.2 million jobs in 2024, with solar photovoltaic (PV) accounting for the largest share at 7.1 million jobs worldwide.
• In March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that clean energy jobs in America grew by 4.2% in 2024, adding over 142,000 new positions.
• In April 2025, China remained the world’s largest renewable energy employer, accounting for approximately 6.5 million jobs in solar, wind, and hydropower sectors, representing nearly 40% of all global renewable energy employment according to IRENA’s latest workforce report.
• In May 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) projected that the global transition to renewable energy could create up to 30 million new jobs by 2030, while displacing approximately 5 million fossil fuel industry positions, resulting in a net gain of 25 million employment opportunities.

Future Trends

• India’s prospects in the renewable energy employment sector are undoubtedly positive. This is due to technological advancements, government backing, and increasing concern for environmental issues among the general public, which will further contribute to the growth of the sector.
• The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) projects renewable energy job statistics, which reveal that the global renewable energy sector will be able to support more than 40 million jobs directly and indirectly by the year 2050, while the current number of jobs stands at about 12 million.
• Employment growth in this sector is expected to be propelled by solar energy. Because of its ability to produce energy on a large scale, countries with a lot of sunlight are investing in solar technology significantly.
• Energy storage is another area with great potential, as it will be able to address the concerns of time-variable renewables like solar.
• Improvements in battery and other energy storage technologies will create more jobs in the manufacturing, installation, and servicing of energy storage.
• Moreover, the use of renewable energy in other modes of production, like transportation and building construction, will help generate more employment opportunities.
• The increasing use of electric vehicles (EVs) will lead to an increase in the charging of EVs, thereby resulting in the creation of more jobs for the installation and maintenance of the charging ICT.
• The same applies to the case of the green jobs market in the construction of energy-efficient enclosures and in rehabilitating the existing ones.

The End

The statistics for employment in renewable energy jobs will continue to be readily available worldwide in the year 2025, and this can contribute to change in the direction of environmentally friendly approaches. The remuneration for renewable energy jobs will generally rise with the positive trends observed in solar, wind, and bioenergy.

But it is very important to fill up skill gaps and have a skilled workforce to meet the requirements of the evolving industry.

FAQ