The highlighted countries span Africa, South America, Europe and parts of Asia. Many rely on long-established hydropower systems, geothermal resources or a combination of both.

Their progress aligns with data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations, which show that a handful of nations already operate electricity grids that are nearly fully renewable.

Iceland remains one of the strongest performers globally, producing almost all of its electricity from geothermal and hydropower.

Paraguay, powered largely by the Itaipu Dam shared with Brazil, also generates close to 100% renewable electricity, making it one of the cleanest grids in the Americas.

In Africa, countries such as Ethiopia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo rely overwhelmingly on hydropower, consistently surpassing the 90% mark. Ethiopia’s long-term investments in hydropower projects have positioned it among the continent’s renewable leaders .

While some smaller nations have leveraged natural endowments or built early renewable infrastructure, larger economies remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The United States, for instance, still generates around 60% of its electricity from fossil fuels, despite recent growth in wind and solar.

China , the world’s largest energy consumer, continues to rely on coal for more than half of its power generation , even as it leads globally in renewable capacity additions.

In Germany and several other European Union economies, renewable expansion has been slowed by grid congestion, high permitting delays and reliance on natural gas , which surged following the disruption of Russian supplies after the invasion of Ukraine.