USA - the engine of the growth of global coal consumption

Just five countries in the world - China, India, USA, Indonesia and Japan - generated 80% of the increase in global coal consumption in 2025. The largest engine of growth was the United States, with a 10% advance compared to the previous year, according to visualcapitalist.com.

The cited source presents, based on data from the Energy Institute, the ranking of regions according to the dynamics, between 2024 and 2025, of coal consumption (in exajoules - EJ; one exajoule is equal to 10¹⁸ joules).

According to the mentioned source, a single exajoule of energy can power approximately 25 million homes in the USA, for one year.

• US Coal Consumption - 8.73 EJ in 2025

The United States had the largest annual increase in coal consumption in the world in 2025, up 0.80 EJ to 8.73 EJ, followed by Indonesia, up 0.43 EJ to 5.15 EJ. China, despite being the world's largest coal consumer, saw its overall consumption remain unchanged in 2025, at 92.24 EJ.

The increase in US consumption marked a sharp reversal from 2024, when it fell 3.4%. Colder winter weather increased demand and prices for natural gas, boosting coal-fired power generation.

As a result, US coal-fired power generation increased by 93.2 TWh, while gas-fired power generation decreased by 61.8 TWh.

• Europe, a different story

Unlike the US, Europe has seen a continued decline in both supply (-6.3%) and demand (-3.1%) compared to the previous year, as coal-fired power plants have closed and renewable energy capacity has expanded.

Europe has reduced its total coal imports by more than 50% between 2015 and 2025, but still relies on foreign purchases to cover 41% of its coal consumption. Despite years of falling imports, Russia remains Europe's largest coal supplier.

• Consumption stagnates in China

China continues to be the world's largest coal consumer, accounting for 56% of global consumption and 52% of production in 2025. Less expected were China's constant consumption levels and a 10% drop in imports.

China's main supplier was Indonesia, which exported 10.4 EJ of coal in 2025. This made Indonesia the world's largest exporter, supplying double its own consumption in 2025.

The 2025 data highlights how differently coal demand is evolving in the main economies. Europe continued its long-term decline, China remained at over half of global consumption, while the US and Indonesia recorded the largest increases, the cited source concludes.

• Eurostat: Low share of coal in electricity production in the EU

Last year, coal represented 3.7% (105,601 GWh) of the total gross electricity production in the European Union, and lignite - 5.5% (154,186 GWh), according to data published yesterday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), cited by Agerpres.

In 2024, the total share of coal in electricity production was below 10% for the first time, and in 2025 it decreased even more, reaching the lowest level, 9.2%.

In 1990, coal represented more than a third of total electricity production in the European Union. In 2000, the total share of coal decreased to 30.4%, a trend that continued, with slight recoveries, in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022, until it reached its lowest share in 2025. In 1990, coal and lignite were the second and third largest sources of electricity production, with 19.8% and 15.3% of gross production, respectively. In contrast, in 2025, coal and lignite were the seventh and sixth largest sources of electricity production, respectively, after nuclear thermal power, natural gas and renewable fuels. Both types of coal were surpassed by nuclear power in 1994, natural gas in 2019, hydro and wind power in 2023 and solar power in 2024.

The decline in coal use for electricity generation is coupled with record low coal production and consumption. EU coal and lignite consumption reached historic lows last year, at 107 million tonnes and 184 million tonnes respectively.

Some EU Member States have phased out coal in recent years. In 2021, Portugal stopped using coal in electricity generation, and in 2024, Slovakia phased out lignite production, leaving only eight Member States as lignite producers.