Consider the following table, showing the final energy consumption in the top 5 EU member states in 2020:
| Rank | Country | Electricity consumption (Gigawatt-hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 490.054 |
| 2 | France | 420.356 |
| 3 | Italy | 283.814 |
| 4 | Spain | 227.172 |
| 5 | Poland | 148.241 |
Should we conclude from this table that the Germans are the biggest electricity consumers in Europe? In absolute numbers, yes. But it if you know a thing or two about European demography, you will notice that this top 5 of electricity consumers is also the top 5 in population:
| Rank | Country | Electricity consumption (Gigawatt-hour) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 490.054 | 83.166.711 |
| 2 | France | 420.356 | 67.320.216 |
| 3 | Italy | 283.814 | 59.641.488 |
| 4 | Spain | 227.172 | 47.332.614 |
| 5 | Poland | 148.241 | 37.958.138 |
This makes sense, of course: more inhabitants will consume more energy. But in order to compare the energy consumption between countries, population should be factored in, and the numbers should be divided by the population of each country.
The top 5 per capita electricity consumers in the EU looks completely different than the one with absolute numbers:
| Rank | Country | Electricity consumption (Gigawatt-hour) | Population | Per capita consumption (Mwh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 78.144 | 5.525.292 | 14,1 |
| 2 | Sweden | 125.678 | 10.327.589 | 12,2 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 6.120 | 626.108 | 9,8 |
| 4 | Austria | 63.577 | 8.901.064 | 7,1 |
| 5 | Belgium | 80.748 | 11.522.440 | 7,0 |
When numbers relate to countries or regions and when they correlate with population, relevant comparisons can only be made by normalising the data: calculating the per capita numbers.