20 Countries That Produce the Most Coal

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In this piece, we will take a look at 20 countries that produce the most coal. For more countries, head on over to 5 Countries That Produce the Most Coal.

The global coal market is worth billions of dollars according to a research report from The Business Research Company. The research firm estimates that the market was worth $595 billion last year, and it will sit at $618 billion by the end of this year after growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9%. It shares that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has stimulated coal prices, as the global commodities market has been upended because of the war. The Business Research Company adds that from 2022 to 2026, the industry will grow at 3.7% to be worth $715 billion by the end of the forecast period.

Since one of the biggest uses of coal is in power generation, it's also worthwhile to take a look at this particular market subsegment. Fortunately, a report from Mordor Intelligence analyzes the global coal fired power generation market. It states that the industry generated 10,100 terawatt hours of electricity in 2018, growing from 9,806 terawatt hours in 2017. The firm adds that between 2020 and 2025, the segment will be a small grower, with a CAGR that is lower than 2%. Developing countries continue to rely on coal power plants for their electricity, with India and China accounting for 85% of new coal power generation capacity since 2005.

Today's piece will take a look at the world's largest coal producing countries. Some companies that play an important role in the industry are Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU), Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) and CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CEIX).

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Our Methodology

We used data gathered by British Petroleum, BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP), as part of its Statistical Review of World Energy report published for the global energy industry in 2022. The report covers coal production for all countries in the world for 2021 end.

20 Countries That Produce the Most Coal

20. Romania

Coal Production As Of 2021 in Million Tons: 17.8

Romania is a central European country with a GDP of $731 billion and a GDP per capita of $38,097. It relies on automotive parts, cars, iron, tires, wheat, and petroleum among other products for its exports. Romania is also a co-owner of the International Space Station (ISS), an orbiting space laboratory operated by the U.S. and Russia. It heavily relies on hydroelectric power to produce electricity but is also home to large oil and gas reserves. Romania produced 17.8 million tons of coal in 2021.