By 2020 it is expected to be 17 percent, and it should continue to drop as the population continues to grow. No wonder the population in developing countries is expected to soar. Global energy demand is expected to grow by about 40 percent over next 15 years, with three-quarters of that increase in developing countries. More than half in Asia alone. Most energy demand in developing countries is fossil-fuel based, so growth there can have especially significant environmental impact.
Oil continues to be the most important component of the world's energy balance.
It currently satisfies 39 percent of world's energy needs and the U.S. Department of Energy expects that share will remain stable for foreseeable future, while dependence on natural gas continues to grow to perhaps 25 percent by 2010. To maintain its share in an expanding energy market, however, oil production must increase by about 30 percent by 2010. U.S. oil demand in 1970 was 14.7 million barrels per day. By 2010, it is expected to be 20.9 million barrels per day, a 42 percent increase over 40 years. During the same period, oil demand in states of the former Soviet Union is expected to have increased 42 percent.