Who uses the most energy in the world, and what do they use it for?
Topic 6.2 Global Energy Consumption: describe patterns of global energy use and the factors, including development and population, that drive demand.
A focused answer to APES Topic 6.2, covering global patterns of energy consumption, the dominance of fossil fuels, differences between more and less developed countries, the drivers of demand (population, economic development, lifestyle), and a worked per capita energy calculation.
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What this topic is asking
The College Board (Topic 6.2) wants you to describe global patterns of energy use and the factors that drive demand, including population and economic development.
Global patterns of energy use
The development gap
What drives demand
Why this matters
Global energy consumption ties Unit 6 to population (Unit 3) and to ecological footprints and sustainability (Unit 5). It also sets up Units 7 and 9: because most energy is still fossil-fuelled, rising demand means more air pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions. The path to lower impact runs through efficiency and a shift to renewables. On the AP exam this topic often appears as a data question: you may be given a graph of energy use by source or by country over time and asked to describe the trend, identify the dominant source, and explain the drivers. The key move is to separate the two levers, population and per capita use, so you can explain why a wealthy country with a small population can still use enormous total energy, and why a populous developing country's total use rises steeply as it industrializes.
Try this
Q1. Identify the energy source that supplies the largest share of global energy. [1 point]
- Cue. Fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas together), about 80%.
Q2. Explain why global energy demand is rising. [2 points]
- Cue. The human population is growing, so more people need energy, and economic development raises per capita use as living standards, industry and transport expand.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2022 (style)4 marksSection II (FRQ). (a) Identify the energy source that supplies the largest share of global energy. (b) Describe how per capita energy use differs between more developed and less developed countries. (c) Explain one reason global energy demand is rising. (d) Describe one environmental consequence of relying mainly on fossil fuels for energy.Show worked answer →
A 4-point FRQ on global energy consumption.
(a) Identify (1 point): fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas together), which supply roughly 80% of global energy.
(b) Describe (1 point): more developed countries use far more energy per person than less developed countries, because of industry, transport and high-consumption lifestyles.
(c) Explain (1 point): demand is rising because of population growth and rising economic development, as more people gain access to electricity, vehicles and manufactured goods.
(d) Describe (1 point): burning fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide and other pollutants, driving climate change and air pollution.
Markers reward fossil fuels as the dominant source, the developed-versus-developing per capita gap, population and development as drivers, and a valid fossil-fuel consequence.
AP 2018 (style)1 marksSection I (multiple choice). Which factor most directly increases a country's total energy consumption as it industrializes? (A) Falling population (B) Rising economic development and living standards (C) Declining vehicle ownership (D) Reduced electricity access. Justify your choice.Show worked answer →
A 1-point MCQ on energy drivers. The answer is (B).
As countries industrialize, economic development and living standards rise, so people use more electricity, transport and manufactured goods, raising total energy consumption. A falling population (A), declining vehicle ownership (C) and reduced electricity access (D) would all lower demand. The trap is overlooking that development, not just population, drives per capita energy use up.
Related dot points
- Topic 6.1 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources: distinguish renewable from nonrenewable energy resources and explain why the distinction matters for sustainability.
A focused answer to APES Topic 6.1, covering the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy resources, examples of each, the idea of potentially renewable resources, and why the distinction matters for sustainability, with a worked depletion calculation.
- Topic 6.3 Fuel Types and Uses: identify the major fuel types (coal, oil, natural gas, biomass) and describe their main uses and relative impacts.
A focused answer to APES Topic 6.3, covering the major fuel types (coal, crude oil, natural gas, biomass), the grades of coal, what each fuel is mainly used for, their relative energy density and emissions, with a worked combustion energy calculation.
- Topic 6.5 Fossil Fuels: explain how fossil fuels form and are used to generate electricity, and describe their environmental impacts, including cogeneration.
A focused answer to APES Topic 6.5, covering how fossil fuels form, how a fossil-fuel power plant generates electricity, fracking, cogeneration, and the environmental impacts of coal, oil and gas, with a worked power plant efficiency calculation.
- Topic 3.7 Human Population Dynamics: explain the factors that influence human population size and growth, and calculate growth rate from crude birth, death and migration rates.
A focused answer to APES Topic 3.7, covering crude birth and death rates, immigration and emigration, the factors driving human population change, infant mortality and life expectancy, and how to calculate population growth rate, with worked math.
- Topic 5.11 Ecological Footprints: define the ecological footprint, explain what it measures, and compare footprints between countries and lifestyles.
A focused answer to APES Topic 5.11, covering the ecological footprint, what it measures, the factors that raise or lower it, biocapacity and overshoot, comparison between countries, and how to interpret footprint data, with a worked footprint calculation.
Sources & how we know this
- AP Environmental Science Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)