Global coal consumption 2023, by country

The world’s two largest coal consuming countries in 2023 were also the world’s two most populous nations: China and India, at 91.9 and 22 exajoules consumed, respectively. In the case of China, this equates to approximately 56 percent of the global coal consumption, whereas India accounted for 13.4 percent.

Global coal consumption

Global coal consumption has been steadily increasing since 1998. That year, the global consumption amounted to 94.9 exajoules. In 2010, consumption of coal reached 150.9 exajoules. This figure increased to 161.47 exajoules by 2022.

China’s coal consumption over time

As one of the largest consumers of coal in the world, China’s coal consumption has more than doubled since 1998. That year, the nation consumed 28.3 exajoules. However, since 2013, China has been slowly decreasing the consumption rate. In 2013, the East Asian country consumed 82.4 exajoules, and in 2016 this figure dropped to around 78 exajoules. The latest data shows that in 2022, China consumed 88.4 exajoules worth of coal.

From 2015 to 2016, China’s coal consumption decreased by 1.6 percent. However, consumption increased from 2018 to 2019 by some 2.3 percent. Coal also represents the largest source of energy consumption in China, accounting for 56.8 percent of total energy consumption in 2020.