Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
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Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production

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Scale of global fossil fuel production

The Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production

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Fossil fuels have been our predominant source of energy for over a century, and the world still extracts and consumes a colossal amount of coal, oil, and gas every year.

This infographic visualizes the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021 using data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.

The Facts on Fossil Fuels

In 2021, the world produced around 8 billion tonnes of coal, 4 billion tonnes of oil, and over 4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

Most of the coal is used to generate electricity for our homes and offices and has a key role in steel production. Similarly, natural gas is a large source of electricity and heat for industries and buildings. Oil is primarily used by the transportation sector, in addition to petrochemical manufacturing, heating, and other end uses.

Here’s a full breakdown of coal, oil, and gas production by country in 2021.

Coal Production

If all the coal produced in 2021 were arranged in a cube, it would measure 2,141 meters (2.1km) on each side—more than 2.5 times the height of the world’s tallest building.

China produced 50% or more than four billion tonnes of the world’s coal in 2021. It’s also the largest consumer of coal, accounting for 54% of coal consumption in 2021.

Rank Country 2021 Coal Production
(million tonnes)
% of Total
#1 🇨🇳 China 4,126.0 50%
#2 🇮🇳 India 811.3 10%
#3 🇮🇩 Indonesia 614.0 8%
#4 🇺🇸 U.S. 524.4 6%
#5 🇦🇺 Australia 478.6 6%
#6 🇷🇺 Russia 433.7 5%
#7 🇿🇦 South Africa 234.5 3%
#8 🇩🇪 Germany 126.0 2%
#9 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 115.7 1%
#10 🇵🇱 Poland 107.6 1%
🌍 Other 600.9 7%
Total 8,172.6 100%

India is both the second largest producer and consumer of coal. Meanwhile, Indonesia is the world’s largest coal exporter, followed by Australia.

In the West, U.S. coal production was down 47% as compared to 2011 levels, and the descent is likely to continue with the clean energy transition.

Oil Production

In 2021, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia were the three largest crude oil producers , respectively.

Rank Country 2021 Oil Production
(million tonnes)
% of Total
#1 🇺🇸 U.S. 711.1 17%
#2 🇷🇺 Russia 536.4 13%
#3 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 515.0 12%
#4 🇨🇦 Canada 267.1 6%
#5 🇮🇶 Iraq 200.8 5%
#6 🇨🇳 China 198.9 5%
#7 🇮🇷 Iran 167.7 4%
#8 🇦🇪 UAE 164.4 4%
#9 🇧🇷 Brazil 156.8 4%
#10 🇰🇼 Kuwait 131.1 3%
🌍 Other 1172.0 28%
Total 4221.4 100%

OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, made up the largest share of production at 35% or 1.5 billion tonnes of oil.

U.S. oil production has seen significant growth since 2010. In 2021, the U.S. extracted 711 million tonnes of oil, more than double the 333 million tonnes produced in 2010.

Natural Gas Production

The world produced 4,036 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021. The above graphic converts that into an equivalent of seven billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to visualize it on the same scale as oil and gas.

Here are the top 10 producers of natural gas in 2021:

Rank Country 2021 Natural Gas Production
(billion m 3 )
% of Total
#1 🇺🇸 U.S. 934.2 23%
#2 🇷🇺 Russia 701.7 17%
#3 🇮🇷 Iran 256.7 6%
#4 🇨🇳 China 209.2 5%
#5 🇶🇦 Qatar 177.0 4%
#6 🇨🇦 Canada 172.3 4%
#7 🇦🇺 Australia 147.2 4%
#8 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 117.3 3%
#9 🇳🇴 Norway 114.3 3%
#10 🇩🇿 Algeria 100.8 2%
🌍 Other 1106.3 27%
Total 4,036.9 100%

The U.S. was the largest producer, with Texas and Pennsylvania accounting for 47% of its gas production. The U.S. electric power and industrial sectors account for around one-third of domestic natural gas consumption.

Russia, the next-largest producer, was the biggest exporter of gas in 2021. It exported an estimated 210 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines to Europe and China. Around 80% of Russian natural gas comes from operations in the Arctic region.

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Energy

Charted: Global Energy Consumption by Source, and Carbon Emissions (1900-2021)

Despite the advent of renewable sources of energy, fossil fuels and their carbon emissions, haven’t gone anywhere.

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Where does our energy come from, and how has this mix changed over the last 100 years?

These charts from Truman Du examine the complex relationship between energy production, consumption, and related carbon emissions using information from Our World in Data .

The World’s Energy Mix (1900-2021)

In the last 10 years, total global energy consumption has risen nearly 15% . Before that, between 2000 and 2010, it increased by nearly 25% .

And despite frequent headlines about green initiatives over the last few years, fossil fuels continue to account for the majority of total energy consumption.

This graphic shows the break up of the different sources of energy and how much they contribute to the total energy consumed in the world.

In 2021, 77% of global energy was sourced from coal, oil, and gas.

Even so, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro have gained traction since the year 2000. Hydropower was the biggest renewable energy source in 2021, accounting for 6.3% of total energy consumed.

A Fossil Fuel Heavy Mix

Taking a closer look at the breakdown of energy by source, another strong (if slightly counterintuitive) trend appears to be holding its own.

Coal has remained a key source of the world’s energy consumption since 1900. Despite its relative share decreasing over time, as of 2021, coal remains the second biggest energy source, accounting for 25% of the world’s energy needs. All figures below are in TWh (terrawatt-hours).

Global Energy Consumption 1900 1950 2000 2010 2021
Solar - - 3 TWh 94 TWh 2,702 TWh
Wind - - 93 TWh 962 TWh 4,872 TWh
Nuclear - - 7,323 TWh 7,374 TWh 7,031 TWh
Hydro 47 TWh 925 TWh 7,826 TWh 9,518 TWh 11,183 TWh
Gas 64 TWh 2,092 TWh 23,994 TWh 31,589 TWh 40,375 TWh
Oil 181 TWh 5,444 TWh 42,881 TWh 47,895 TWh 51,170 TWh
Coal 5,728 TWh 12,603 TWh 27,428 TWh 41,996 TWh 44,473 TWh
Total 12,131 TWh 28,564 TWh 122,745 TWh 152,966 TWh 176,431 TWh

From its crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, to its relative cheapness and useful byproducts, coal isn’t close to being phased out anytime soon. In fact, it has seen a resurgence in powering India and China’s growing economies in the 21st century.

As fossil fuel use has increased in absolute terms, so have carbon emissions.

Carbon Emissions in 1900 vs. 2020

China, the U.S., India, Russia, and Japan are the top five emitters in the world, responsible for 60% of the world’s total emissions in 2020.

As these countries include the world’s largest economic powers, some believe emissions are a necessary byproduct of economic growth. Though there are exceptions, this seems to have held true on average, as studies show a 1% change in GDP is correlated with a 0.072 change in carbon dioxide emissions.

When looking at the chart of carbon emissions below, China’s journey of economic growth in the latter half of the 20th century exemplifies this.

This chart compares the biggest carbon emitters between 2020 and 1900.

China’s emissions increased dramatically, rising by six times from 1978 to 2018 alone, driven primarily by economic growth.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 50 biggest emitters in the world in 2020 versus 1900. All figures are in units of 100 million tons, and are rounded for simplicity.

Rank Country 1900 Emissions Country 2020 Emissions
1 U.S. 6.6 China 106.7
2 U.K 4.2 U.S. 47.1
3 Germany 3.3 India 24.4
4 France 1.3 Russia 15.8
5 Poland 0.6 Japan 10.3
6 Belgium 0.5 Iran 7.5
7 Russia 0.5 Germany 6.4
8 Czechia 0.3 Saudi Arabia 6.3
9 Austria 0.3 South Korea 6
10 Canada 0.2 Indonesia 5.9
11 Japan 0.2 Canada 5.4
12 Netherlands 0.1 Brazil 4.7
13 Ukraine 0.1 South Africa 4.5
14 Italy 0.1 Turkey 3.9
15 India 0.1 Australia 3.9
16 Spain 0.1 Mexico 3.6
17 Slovakia 0.1 U.K. 3.3
18 Australia 0.1 Italy 3
19 Hungary 0.1 Poland 3
20 Sweden 0.1 Kazakhstan 2.9
21 Switzerland 0.1 France 2.8
22 Denmark 0.1 Taiwan 2.7
23 Kazakhstan 0 Malaysia 2.7
24 Norway 0 Thailand 2.6
25 Portugal 0 Vietnam 2.5
26 New Zealand 0 Pakistan 2.3
27 South Africa 0 Ukraine 2.1
28 Belarus 0 Egypt 2.1
29 Argentina 0 Iraq 2.1
30 Uzbekistan 0 Spain 2.1
31 Romania 0 Argentina 1.6
32 Indonesia 0 Algeria 1.5
33 Turkey 0 UAE 1.5
34 Mexico 0 Netherlands 1.4
35 Azerbaijan 0 Philippines 1.4
36 Chile 0 Nigeria 1.3
37 Moldova 0 Uzbekistan 1.1
38 Lithuania 0 Qatar 1.1
39 Estonia 0 Bangladesh 0.9
40 Turkmenistan 0 Colombia 0.9
41 Finland 0 Kuwait 0.9
42 Vietnam 0 Mongolia 0.9
43 Latvia 0 Czechia 0.9
44 Kyrgyzstan 0 Venezuela 0.8
45 Greece 0 Belgium 0.8
46 Serbia 0 Chile 0.8
47 Georgia 0 Turkmenistan 0.8
48 Tajikistan 0 Romania 0.7
49 Peru 0 Morocco 0.6
50 Bulgaria 0 Oman 0.6
Total World 19.5 World 319.2

The data also highlights the shift in the global economy between developed and developing economies.

In the 1900s, the largest emitters were the U.S. and other industrialized nations. In the later data set, developing economies like India, Brazil, and Indonesia have moved up the list as more significant carbon emitters as well.

Exporting Emissions

The accounting for carbon emissions can change with international trade, depending on how emissions are counted and attributed.

Should emissions generated from a manufactured good be assigned to the country where the good was made, or to the place where the good was ultimately consumed? Adjusting emissions based on imports and exports can help us look at these differences.

This chart compares production-based emissions versus consumption-based emissions by country.

Richer economies that import lots of goods, like the U.S., UK, or Germany tend to have higher consumption-based emissions.

Meanwhile, for high-growth countries like China, India, Iran, and South Africa, the inverse is true: their production-based emissions are higher than their consumption-based emissions.

Cumulative Carbon Emissions

When taking into account emissions from the Industrial Revolution to 2020, nearly every continent has contributed large amounts of carbon emissions—but key leaders emerge.

Here is the full breakdown:

This chart shows cumulative carbon emissions by country since 1900.

According to the UN, the world will need to cut emissions by 32 Gt more than what countries have already promised in order to achieve the 1.5 °C target outlined in the Paris Agreement.

As you can see in this data, how or if this happens will likely be driven largely by the future of our energy sources and consumption.

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