Coal reserves by country
Proved reserves, measured in tonnes, are generally those quantities that can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, according to geological and engineering information.
Countries reporting
86
Highest
247.88 billion tonnes
United States
Lowest
999,998 tonnes
Taiwan
Median
1.03 billion tonnes
Years covered
16
2008–2023
Data points
3,421
What the numbers show
Coal reserves is currently reported for 86 countries. The highest value is 247.88 billion tonnes in United States; the lowest is 999,998 tonnes in Taiwan.
The median across all reporting countries is 1.03 billion tonnes, and the mean is 13.54 billion tonnes.
Over the past decade 37 countries rose and 17 fell. The largest increase was in Malawi (up 40,000.0%), and the largest decrease in Portugal (down 91.7%).
Coal reserves: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 247.88 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 6.4% | flat |
| 2 | Russia | 162.17 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 3 | China | 157.04 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 22.6% | rising |
| 4 | Australia | 149.47 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 40.7% | rising |
| 5 | India | 127.73 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 47.4% | rising |
| 6 | Germany | 35.40 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 12.2% | falling |
| 7 | Indonesia | 35.05 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 55.7% | rising |
| 8 | Ukraine | 34.38 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 9 | Kyrgyzstan | 28.50 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 2,835.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Poland | 27.76 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 33.1% | rising |
| 11 | Kazakhstan | 25.61 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 12 | Turkey | 10.97 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 26.1% | rising |
| 13 | North Korea | 10.60 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 1,666.7% | volatile |
| 14 | South Africa | 9.89 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 68.9% | falling |
| 15 | Serbia | 7.11 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 5.4% | flat |
| 16 | New Zealand | 6.75 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 17 | Brazil | 6.60 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 18 | Canada | 6.58 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 19 | Eswatini | 4.64 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 3,125.0% | volatile |
| 20 | Colombia | 4.55 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 6.7% | falling |
| 21 | Belgium | 4.10 billion tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 22 | Tajikistan | 4.07 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 986.7% | volatile |
| 23 | Czechia | 3.60 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 4.1% | flat |
| 24 | Bangladesh | 3.26 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 1,012.6% | volatile |
| 25 | Netherlands | 3.25 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 553.3% | volatile |
| 26 | Vietnam | 3.12 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 7.3% | flat |
| 27 | Greece | 2.88 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 28 | Pakistan | 2.86 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 6.8% | flat |
| 29 | Hungary | 2.63 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 9.5% | falling |
| 30 | Mongolia | 2.52 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 31 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2.26 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 32 | Bulgaria | 2.17 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 8.1% | flat |
| 33 | Nigeria | 2.14 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 523.3% | volatile |
| 34 | Mozambique | 1.79 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 35 | Botswana | 1.66 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 4,050.0% | volatile |
| 36 | Peru | 1.57 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 1,436.3% | volatile |
| 37 | Tanzania | 1.41 billion tonnes | 2023 | up 424.2% | volatile |
| 38 | Uzbekistan | 1.38 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 39 | Iran | 1.20 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | rising |
| 40 | Spain | 1.19 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 41 | Chile | 1.18 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 42 | Mexico | 1.16 billion tonnes | 2023 | down 4.2% | flat |
| 43 | Thailand | 1.06 billion tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 44 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 988.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 1,022.7% | volatile |
| 45 | Zambia | 945.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 2,000.0% | volatile |
| 46 | Georgia | 901.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 348.3% | volatile |
| 47 | Malawi | 802.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 40,000.0% | volatile |
| 48 | Argentina | 800.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 60.0% | rising |
| 48 | Turkmenistan | 800.00 million tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 48 | Uganda | 800.00 million tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 51 | Venezuela | 731.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 52 | Italy | 610.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 3,488.2% | volatile |
| 53 | Albania | 522.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 54 | Zimbabwe | 502.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 55 | Greenland | 383.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 109.3% | rising |
| 56 | Philippines | 361.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 14.2% | rising |
| 57 | Namibia | 350.00 million tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 57 | Japan | 350.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 59 | Montenegro | 337.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 137.3% | rising |
| 60 | North Macedonia | 332.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 61 | South Korea | 326.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 62 | Armenia | 317.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 94.5% | rising |
| 63 | Romania | 291.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | falling |
| 64 | Myanmar | 252.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 4,100.0% | volatile |
| 65 | Malaysia | 226.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 25.6% | rising |
| 66 | Algeria | 223.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 278.0% | rising |
| 67 | Egypt | 182.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 1,037.5% | volatile |
| 68 | France | 160.00 million tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 69 | Madagascar | 150.00 million tonnes | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 70 | Morocco | 96.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 585.7% | volatile |
| 71 | Slovenia | 95.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 74.4% | volatile |
| 72 | Niger | 90.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 1,400.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Afghanistan | 66.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 74 | Laos | 62.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 87.7% | volatile |
| 75 | Ireland | 40.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 185.7% | rising |
| 76 | United Kingdom | 26.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 90.2% | volatile |
| 77 | Ecuador | 24.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 78 | Slovakia | 19.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 85.9% | volatile |
| 79 | Nepal | 8.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 700.0% | volatile |
| 80 | Sweden | 5.00 million tonnes | 2023 | up 400.0% | volatile |
| 81 | Portugal | 3.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 91.7% | volatile |
| 81 | Central African Republic | 3.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 83 | Norway | 2.00 million tonnes | 2023 | down 83.3% | volatile |
| 83 | New Caledonia | 2.00 million tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 85 | Bolivia | 999,998 tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 85 | Taiwan | 999,998 tonnes | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
About this data
Proved reserves, measured in tonnes, are generally those quantities that can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions, according to geological and engineering information.