China vs United States: Coal production
China
26,296 terawatt-hours
in 2025
United States
3,067 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
United States rank
4th
Coal production over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 26,296 terawatt-hours against 3,067 terawatt-hours in United States, a difference of 23,229 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 8.6 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 219 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and United States in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 25.76 terawatt-hours | 2,538 terawatt-hours | 2,513 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1910s | 55.68 terawatt-hours | 3,813 terawatt-hours | 3,757 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1920s | 95.75 terawatt-hours | 3,998 terawatt-hours | 3,902 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1930s | 155.65 terawatt-hours | 2,982 terawatt-hours | 2,827 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1940s | 211.12 terawatt-hours | 4,157 terawatt-hours | 3,945 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1950s | 739.97 terawatt-hours | 3,385 terawatt-hours | 2,645 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1960s | 1,708 terawatt-hours | 3,447 terawatt-hours | 1,740 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 2,738 terawatt-hours | 4,407 terawatt-hours | 1,669 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 4,778 terawatt-hours | 5,419 terawatt-hours | 641.18 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 7,278 terawatt-hours | 6,234 terawatt-hours | 1,043 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 13,198 terawatt-hours | 6,401 terawatt-hours | 6,797 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 21,080 terawatt-hours | 5,097 terawatt-hours | 15,983 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 24,608 terawatt-hours | 3,141 terawatt-hours | 21,468 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal production, China or United States?
- China, at 26,296 terawatt-hours against 3,067 terawatt-hours in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal production between China and United States?
- 23,229 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for coal production?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal production. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.