Indonesia vs South Africa: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions

Indonesia
3.82 million tonnes
in 2022
South Africa
2.83 million tonnes
in 2022
Indonesia rank
4th
South Africa rank
7th

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions over time

  • Indonesia
  • South Africa
01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M175018862022

How they compare

Indonesia currently reports 3.82 million tonnes against 2.83 million tonnes in South Africa, a difference of 988,310 tonnes.

That makes Indonesia's figure about 1.3 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 273 shared years of data; in 1750 it was Indonesia ahead.

Indonesia ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 7th of 220 countries.

Across the 28 decades both report, Indonesia averaged higher in 14 and South Africa in 14.

Head to head by decade

Decade Indonesia South Africa Difference Ahead
1750s 4,690 tonnes 305.51 tonnes 4,385 tonnes Indonesia
1760s 4,804 tonnes 314.85 tonnes 4,489 tonnes Indonesia
1770s 4,917 tonnes 324.95 tonnes 4,592 tonnes Indonesia
1780s 5,028 tonnes 335.92 tonnes 4,692 tonnes Indonesia
1790s 5,137 tonnes 347.88 tonnes 4,789 tonnes Indonesia
1800s 5,245 tonnes 360.96 tonnes 4,884 tonnes Indonesia
1810s 5,350 tonnes 382.53 tonnes 4,967 tonnes Indonesia
1820s 5,626 tonnes 415.44 tonnes 5,211 tonnes Indonesia
1830s 6,110 tonnes 452.74 tonnes 5,657 tonnes Indonesia
1840s 6,587 tonnes 819.09 tonnes 5,768 tonnes Indonesia
1850s 7,207 tonnes 1,944 tonnes 5,264 tonnes Indonesia
1860s 8,050 tonnes 2,549 tonnes 5,500 tonnes Indonesia
1870s 9,104 tonnes 6,782 tonnes 2,322 tonnes Indonesia
1880s 10,205 tonnes 14,911 tonnes 4,706 tonnes South Africa
1890s 15,721 tonnes 46,915 tonnes 31,194 tonnes South Africa
1900s 32,723 tonnes 110,548 tonnes 77,825 tonnes South Africa
1910s 50,367 tonnes 242,416 tonnes 192,050 tonnes South Africa
1920s 80,899 tonnes 290,679 tonnes 209,780 tonnes South Africa
1930s 125,518 tonnes 300,061 tonnes 174,543 tonnes South Africa
1940s 92,570 tonnes 495,170 tonnes 402,600 tonnes South Africa
1950s 101,132 tonnes 651,952 tonnes 550,821 tonnes South Africa
1960s 129,098 tonnes 911,336 tonnes 782,238 tonnes South Africa
1970s 227,917 tonnes 1.57 million tonnes 1.34 million tonnes South Africa
1980s 456,158 tonnes 2.01 million tonnes 1.56 million tonnes South Africa
1990s 904,426 tonnes 2.35 million tonnes 1.45 million tonnes South Africa
2000s 1.59 million tonnes 2.92 million tonnes 1.33 million tonnes South Africa
2010s 2.67 million tonnes 3.25 million tonnes 578,082 tonnes South Africa
2020s 3.42 million tonnes 2.90 million tonnes 518,597 tonnes Indonesia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions, Indonesia or South Africa?
Indonesia, at 3.82 million tonnes against 2.83 million tonnes in South Africa as of 2022.
What is the difference in coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions between Indonesia and South Africa?
988,310 tonnes, with Indonesia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Indonesia and South Africa?
273 years are reported by both, from 1750 to 2022.
How do Indonesia and South Africa rank globally for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?
Indonesia ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 7th 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.

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Indonesia vs South Africa: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid, drawing on Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://energy.statizoid.com/compare/sulphur-dioxide-and-coal/indonesia/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions
Unit
tonnes
Source
Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed

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.