Coal Industry

The coal industry mines, trades and markets coal worldwide. About 8,000 million tonnes are produced annually, roughly 90 percent hard coal and 10 percent lignite, with just over half coming from underground mines as of 2018, and the industry employs almost 2.7 million workers. China produces close to half of global output, followed by India at roughly a tenth. Indonesia was the largest exporter in 2022 at 471 million tonnes, about 34 percent of global exports, with Australia and Russia the next largest, while China, India and Japan were the largest importers. China alone consumed more than 4,500 million tonnes in 2022, over half of world consumption, and the International Energy Agency has projected global coal trade to decline by about 12 percent through 2026.