Share of primary energy from coal in Australia
Australia: Share of primary energy from coal was 26.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
26.4%
Change on year
down 3.2%
World rank
15th
of 79 countries
All-time high
49.2%
in 1965
All-time low
26.4%
in 2025
Years of data
61
1965–2025
Share of primary energy from coal in Australia, 1965–2025
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 26.4% for share of primary energy from coal in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 61 years on record.
The figure is down 3.2% on the previous year and down 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary energy from coal in Australia peaked at 49.2% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 26.4%, in 2025.
That places Australia 15th out of 79 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 61 years of available data.
Share of primary energy from coal in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 49.2% | — |
| 1966 | 48.5% | -1.4% |
| 1967 | 47.0% | -3.1% |
| 1968 | 45.6% | -2.9% |
| 1969 | 45.4% | -0.5% |
| 1970 | 42.1% | -7.2% |
| 1971 | 40.4% | -4.2% |
| 1972 | 40.3% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 39.2% | -2.6% |
| 1974 | 38.6% | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 39.2% | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 39.1% | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 38.7% | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 38.6% | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 38.8% | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 39.7% | +2.4% |
| 1981 | 40.1% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 40.8% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 41.2% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 42.1% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 42.4% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 42.7% | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 43.2% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 43.4% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 43.3% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 43.5% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 44.7% | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 44.3% | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 43.6% | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 42.8% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 43.1% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 43.6% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 44.6% | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 45.5% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 46.4% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 46.5% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 45.6% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 45.7% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 46.4% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 46.8% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 46.3% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 45.6% | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 44.0% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 45.1% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 44.3% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 41.2% | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 39.2% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 37.3% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 35.1% | -5.8% |
| 2014 | 34.4% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 34.9% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 35.0% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 33.8% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 32.8% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 30.5% | -7.1% |
| 2020 | 31.5% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 30.8% | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 28.1% | -8.8% |
| 2023 | 27.5% | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 27.3% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 26.4% | -3.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.9%, 9.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Australia's 26.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 24.6%, 1.1× the median. (12 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 47.1% | 45.4% | 49.2% | 5 |
| 1970s | 39.5% | 38.6% | 42.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.9% | 39.7% | 43.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.2% | 42.8% | 46.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.6% | 44.0% | 46.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.4% | 30.5% | 41.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.6% | 26.4% | 31.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More energy & mining data for Australia
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.4235 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0.0001 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0.0001 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 11.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary energy from coal in Australia?
- Share of primary energy from coal in Australia was 26.4% in 2025, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary energy from coal recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 49.2% in 1965.
- What is the lowest share of primary energy from coal recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.4% in 2025.
- How does Australia rank for share of primary energy from coal?
- Australia ranks 15th out of 79 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of primary energy from coal rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary energy from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total energy supply.