Japan vs South Korea: Coal production
Japan
3.16 terawatt-hours
in 2025
South Korea
2.3 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Japan rank
52nd
South Korea rank
54th
Coal production over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 3.16 terawatt-hours against 2.3 terawatt-hours in South Korea, a difference of 0.86 terawatt-hours.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.4 times South Korea's.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 126 shared years of data; in 1900 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 52nd and South Korea ranks 54th of 219 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 9 and South Korea in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 88.55 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 88.55 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1910s | 173.45 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 173.45 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1920s | 235.81 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 235.81 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1930s | 292.28 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 292.28 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1940s | 329.99 terawatt-hours | 2.21 terawatt-hours | 327.78 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1950s | 350.8 terawatt-hours | 12.65 terawatt-hours | 338.15 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1960s | 387.59 terawatt-hours | 74.9 terawatt-hours | 312.69 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1970s | 181.49 terawatt-hours | 113.95 terawatt-hours | 67.55 terawatt-hours | Japan |
| 1980s | 101.89 terawatt-hours | 115.16 terawatt-hours | 13.28 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 1990s | 40.77 terawatt-hours | 44.37 terawatt-hours | 3.61 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2000s | 10.12 terawatt-hours | 16.68 terawatt-hours | 6.56 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2010s | 7.62 terawatt-hours | 9.11 terawatt-hours | 1.49 terawatt-hours | South Korea |
| 2020s | 4.25 terawatt-hours | 3.98 terawatt-hours | 0.2763 terawatt-hours | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal production, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 3.16 terawatt-hours against 2.3 terawatt-hours in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in coal production between Japan and South Korea?
- 0.86 terawatt-hours, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 126 years are reported by both, from 1900 to 2025.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for coal production?
- Japan ranks 52nd and South Korea ranks 54th 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.