Australia vs Brazil: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions
Australia
1.05 million tonnes
in 2022
Brazil
1.13 million tonnes
in 2022
Australia rank
16th
Brazil rank
13th
Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions over time
- Australia
- Brazil
How they compare
Brazil currently reports 1.13 million tonnes against 1.05 million tonnes in Australia, a difference of 87,230 tonnes.
That makes Brazil's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 273 shared years of data; in 1750 it was Brazil ahead.
Australia ranks 16th and Brazil ranks 13th of 220 countries.
Across the 28 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 15 and Brazil in 13.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Brazil | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1750s | 0 tonnes | 360.36 tonnes | 360.36 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1760s | 0 tonnes | 391.45 tonnes | 391.45 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1770s | 0 tonnes | 425.83 tonnes | 425.83 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1780s | 0.1907 tonnes | 464.04 tonnes | 463.85 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1790s | 0.8604 tonnes | 506.77 tonnes | 505.91 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1800s | 2.84 tonnes | 586.46 tonnes | 583.62 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1810s | 9.7 tonnes | 716.97 tonnes | 707.27 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1820s | 32.28 tonnes | 886.96 tonnes | 854.68 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1830s | 86.55 tonnes | 1,089 tonnes | 1,003 tonnes | Brazil |
| 1840s | 4,328 tonnes | 1,288 tonnes | 3,041 tonnes | Australia |
| 1850s | 11,528 tonnes | 1,501 tonnes | 10,028 tonnes | Australia |
| 1860s | 21,444 tonnes | 1,745 tonnes | 19,699 tonnes | Australia |
| 1870s | 29,690 tonnes | 2,054 tonnes | 27,636 tonnes | Australia |
| 1880s | 54,168 tonnes | 2,470 tonnes | 51,698 tonnes | Australia |
| 1890s | 108,236 tonnes | 3,014 tonnes | 105,222 tonnes | Australia |
| 1900s | 233,104 tonnes | 39,259 tonnes | 193,845 tonnes | Australia |
| 1910s | 299,374 tonnes | 54,629 tonnes | 244,745 tonnes | Australia |
| 1920s | 279,045 tonnes | 63,120 tonnes | 215,924 tonnes | Australia |
| 1930s | 380,043 tonnes | 61,439 tonnes | 318,604 tonnes | Australia |
| 1940s | 437,264 tonnes | 73,103 tonnes | 364,161 tonnes | Australia |
| 1950s | 662,520 tonnes | 203,000 tonnes | 459,520 tonnes | Australia |
| 1960s | 1.07 million tonnes | 369,618 tonnes | 698,861 tonnes | Australia |
| 1970s | 1.48 million tonnes | 958,663 tonnes | 518,598 tonnes | Australia |
| 1980s | 1.54 million tonnes | 1.25 million tonnes | 296,018 tonnes | Australia |
| 1990s | 1.58 million tonnes | 1.58 million tonnes | 8,555 tonnes | Brazil |
| 2000s | 1.41 million tonnes | 1.61 million tonnes | 203,452 tonnes | Brazil |
| 2010s | 1.21 million tonnes | 1.51 million tonnes | 303,947 tonnes | Brazil |
| 2020s | 1.02 million tonnes | 1.18 million tonnes | 158,130 tonnes | Brazil |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions, Australia or Brazil?
- Brazil, at 1.13 million tonnes against 1.05 million tonnes in Australia as of 2022.
- What is the difference in coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions between Australia and Brazil?
- 87,230 tonnes, with Brazil ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Brazil?
- 273 years are reported by both, from 1750 to 2022.
- How do Australia and Brazil rank globally for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?
- Australia ranks 16th and Brazil ranks 13th of 220 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Hoesly et al. (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is an air pollutant formed from the burning of fuels that contain sulfur, such as coal. SO₂ is one of the main chemicals that forms acid rain.