Australia vs South Africa: Coal production by region
Australia
3,024 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Africa
1,552 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Australia rank
5th
South Africa rank
7th
Coal production by region over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 3,024 terawatt-hours against 1,552 terawatt-hours in South Africa, a difference of 1,472 terawatt-hours.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.9 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1981 it was South Africa ahead.
Australia ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 7th of 34 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1,019 terawatt-hours | 1,090 terawatt-hours | 70.58 terawatt-hours | South Africa |
| 1990s | 1,598 terawatt-hours | 1,321 terawatt-hours | 277.28 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2000s | 2,431 terawatt-hours | 1,530 terawatt-hours | 900.54 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2010s | 3,385 terawatt-hours | 1,685 terawatt-hours | 1,700 terawatt-hours | Australia |
| 2020s | 3,258 terawatt-hours | 1,552 terawatt-hours | 1,706 terawatt-hours | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal production by region, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 3,024 terawatt-hours against 1,552 terawatt-hours in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal production by region between Australia and South Africa?
- 1,472 terawatt-hours, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for coal production by region?
- Australia ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 7th of 34 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal production by region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.