In 2023, global coal consumption exceeded 164 exajoules for the first time, despite ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Coal now makes up 26% of the world’s total energy consumption.
A graphic by Visual Capitalist, created by Bruno Venditti, illustrates coal consumption by region from 1965 to 2023, using data from the Energy Institute.
China Dominates Coal Use
China is the leading consumer of coal, using 91.94 exajoules in 2023, which accounts for 56% of global consumption. India follows with 21.98 exajoules, while the United States consumes 8.20 exajoules. Notably, in 2023, India’s coal consumption surpassed the combined total of Europe and North America for the first time.
In contrast, North America, Europe, and other regions have reduced their coal use since the 1990s. The Asia-Pacific region, however, has seen a significant increase in coal consumption since around the year 2000.
Coal Production Reaches New Heights
To meet the rising demand for coal, global production hit an all-time high in 2023. More than 8.7 billion tonnes of coal were mined, equating to about 179 exajoules. Nearly 80% of this production occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Australia, China, India, and Indonesia.
China was responsible for just over half of the total global coal production.
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