Ranked: Where Coal Consumption Rose the Most in 2025
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. (+0.80 EJ) led the world in coal consumption changes between 2024 to 2025, followed by Indonesia (+0.43 EJ).
- The vast majority of countries either reduced coal consumption or, like China, held consumption flat.
Just five countries—China, India, the U.S., Indonesia, and Japan—accounted for 80% of the world’s growing coal consumption in 2025. The biggest driver of rising demand was the United States, with a year-over-year increase of 10%.
This graphic uses data from the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2026. It ranks regions by change in coal consumption between 2024 to 2025 in exajoules (EJ).
For reference, a single exajoule of energy can power approximately 25 million U.S. homes for a year.
America’s Rising Coal Consumption in 2025
The United States had the world’s largest annual increase in coal consumption in 2025, rising by 0.80 EJ to reach 8.73 EJ followed by Indonesia with a 0.43 EJ increase to 5.15 EJ. China, despite being the world’s biggest coal consumer, had no change in its coal consumption in 2025.
The data table below shows the 2024 and 2025 coal consumption figures in exajoules for the U.S., China, Indonesia, Europe, and the rest of the world, along with their annual change:
| Country/Region | Coal Consumption in Exajoules (EJ) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | Y-o-Y Change | |
 U.S. |
7.93 | 8.73 | 0.80 |
 Indonesia |
4.72 | 5.15 | 0.43 |
 China |
92.24 | 92.24 | 0.00 |
| Europe | 7.58 | 7.33 | -0.25 |
 Rest of World |
52.98 | 52.58 | -0.40 |
The increase marked a sharp reversal from 2024, when U.S. coal consumption fell 3.4%. Colder winter weather increased natural gas demand and prices, improving the economics of coal-fired power generation.
U.S. coal-fired generation consequently increased by 93.2 TWh, while gas-fired generation declined by 61.8 TWh.
A Different Story Across the Atlantic
Unlike the U.S., Europe saw both its supply (-6.3%) and demand (-3.1%) continue to decline year-over-year with retiring coal plants and expanding renewable energy capacity.
Europe reduced its total imports by over 50% between 2015-2025, yet still relies on imports to meet 41% of its coal consumption. Despite years of declining imports, Russia remains Europe’s largest supplier of coal.
No Growth in Chinese Coal Consumption
China is still the largest coal consumer in the world, representing 56% of global consumption and 52% of production in 2025. Less expected was China’s flat consumption levels and decreasing imports by 10%.
China’s leading supplier was Indonesia, which exported 10.4 EJ worth of coal in 2025. This made Indonesia the world’s largest exporter, shipping twice that of its own 2025 consumption.
The 2025 data highlights how differently coal demand is evolving across major economies. Europe continued its long-term decline, China held steady at more than half of global consumption, while the U.S. and Indonesia recorded the largest increases.
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