Top 7 Largest Coal Producer In The World

According to the International Energy Agency, coal contributes to nearly 40 percent of the world's electrical energy. In the future, it will not be impossible that it will replace oil and become the biggest primary energy source.

Coal has controlled the global energy arena mainly because it is abundant, has low process cost and there are many sources for it to be obtained in many parts of the world. The coal reserve is estimated to be close to 1 trillion tonnes based on the current production rate.

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This means that coal can sustain for roughly 115 years longer compared to oil reserves and conventional gas. One interesting thing to take note of is that the coal reserve in Asia and South Africa, both are facing a big problem in providing energy to the people. Coal is considered less superior when compared to oil and gas.

Despite the shift towards renewable energy being more sustainable, especially the debate regarding the change in climate, the source of coal has played a crucial role in supporting the rise in demand for energy from all types of energy sources.

7. South Africa

With around 252 million tonnes being produced, South Africa stands in 7th place as the largest coal producer in the world. This country is also the sixth biggest coal exporter in the world and traded roughly 69 tonnes of coal in 2018.

South Africa mostly exports its coal to Europe, China, and India. It is estimated that 90 percent of the electricity production in South Africa is based on coal. This country has a coal reserve of 9.89 billion tonnes according to a statistical report that was published in December 2018.

6. Russia

Russia sits in sixth place on this list and the country produced 354.8 tonnes of coal in 2012 of which 80 percents of them are steam coals. Not just that but Russia is also the fifth-largest coal user in the world.

The country exported 134 tonnes of coal in 2012 making it the third-largest coal exporter in the world. With a reserve of 157 billion tonnes, Russia also sits in second place in the highest coal reserves in the world.

5. Indonesia

Indonesia produced almost 461 million tonnes of coal and is the fifth-largest coal producer in the world. Indonesia's position is head-to-head with Australia as the largest coal exporter. In 2011, Indonesia has passed Australia in terms of coal production but currently, it is the other way around.

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This country is the largest coal exporter and coal is responsible for 44 percent of the electrical energy production in Indonesia. This country has around 5.5 billion tonnes of coal reserves based on a statistic in 2012.

4. Australia

Australia's coal production has achieved 481 million tonnes in 2014 placing it fourth in the whole world. This country exports around 90 percent of coal coming second after Indonesia as in 2018 the country exported 382 million tonnes of coal.

Australia still keeps a big reserve of coal of 147.4 billion tonnes. This country also has around 100 private coal miners that are operational and this method of mining has contributed to 74 percent of the coal production in Australia.

3. United States of America

The United States of America used to be in second place as the largest coal producer in the world but has stepped down by producing 702 million tonnes of coal in 2018. This figure comprises 9 percent of global coal production. The country is also the third-largest coal user in the world.

The use of coal in America is estimated to be 8.5 percent of the world's usage and almost 23.5 percent of the country's electric production relies on coal. The United States of America also has a coal reserve of 250 billion tonnes.

2. India

India's coal production is 716 million tonnes and is the second coal producer in the world. India uses 8 percent of the world's coal making it the second-biggest user of this source too.

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It also imports a lot of coal into the country and is the second biggest importer taking in 197.84 million tonnes of coal in 2019 into the country. Roughly 3 out of 4 electricity generation in India depends on coal alone. The country's coal reserve was confirmed to be 101.3 billion tonnes in 2018.

1. China

China has become the largest coal producer in the world in the past 3 decades. China produced almost 3.5 billion tonnes of coal in 2018 which contributes to 46 percent of global coal production. Interestingly enough the country also uses more than half of that amount.

China sits in fourth place for the largest coal reserve with an estimated 138.8 billion tonnes of coal according to a statistic that was published in December 2018. China's coal contributes to more than 80 percent of the electricity generation in the country.

Source:

• World Atlas

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