10 Countries with the Largest Coal Consumption, Turns Out the US is Voracious!

Global coal consumption is increasingly concentrated in a handful of major countries, with China leading far ahead of others. The latest data from the Statistical Review of World Energy 2025 shows that the current structure of coal-based energy demand is highly uneven, reflecting the uneven dynamics of the energy transition across various regions of the world. China and India Dominate Nearly 70% of Global Consumption China recorded consumption of 92.2 exajoules of coal in 2024, equivalent to 55.8% of total global consumption. This figure is even larger than the combined consumption of all other countries in the world. This dominance reflects the immense energy needs to support the industrial sector, power generation, and economic growth in the country. In second place, India consumed 23.0 exajoules, or about 13.9% of the global total. Combined, China and India contribute nearly 70% of the world’s coal consumption. These two countries are the centres of global coal demand, in line with their high population levels. Exajoules are used to measure energy on a very large scale, typically at the national or global level, not for individuals or households. One exajoule is equivalent to the electricity used by millions of homes over a year or about 172 million barrels of oil. Meanwhile, the United States is in third place with a 4.8% share, followed by Indonesia (2.9%), Japan (2.7%), and Russia (2.3%). Other countries such as South Africa, South Korea, and Vietnam have smaller but still significant contributions to the global energy landscape. Developing Countries Drive the Rise in Consumption Although the global trend is towards clean energy, coal consumption is still increasing in several developing countries. Vietnam recorded the highest growth of 9.3% from 2023 to 2024, followed by Indonesia with an increase of 9.0%. Turkey also showed a significant surge. Meanwhile, India and China, already the world’s largest consumers, still recorded consumption growth of 1.4%. This increase is generally driven by rising electricity needs, industrial expansion, and limitations in access or readiness of renewable energy infrastructure in those countries.