Electricity generation from coal in Australia

Australia: Electricity generation from coal was 122.35 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
122.35 terawatt-hours
Change on year
down 3.9%
World rank
10th
of 207 countries
All-time high
185.76 terawatt-hours
in 2006
All-time low
89.37 terawatt-hours
in 1985
Years of data
41
1985–2025

Electricity generation from coal in Australia, 1985–2025

0501001502001985200520251985: 89.4 terawatt-hours1986: 92.6 terawatt-hours1987: 100.3 terawatt-hours1988: 106 terawatt-hours1989: 113.6 terawatt-hours1990: 123.4 terawatt-hours1991: 127.2 terawatt-hours1992: 130 terawatt-hours1993: 133.3 terawatt-hours1994: 136.9 terawatt-hours1995: 141.9 terawatt-hours1996: 148.4 terawatt-hours1997: 157.5 terawatt-hours1998: 165.9 terawatt-hours1999: 171.2 terawatt-hours2000: 180.3 terawatt-hours2001: 179.9 terawatt-hours2002: 171.9 terawatt-hours2003: 173.6 terawatt-hours2004: 179 terawatt-hours2005: 183 terawatt-hours2006: 185.8 terawatt-hours2007: 185.5 terawatt-hours2008: 184.2 terawatt-hours2009: 182 terawatt-hours2010: 176 terawatt-hours2011: 172 terawatt-hours2012: 165.4 terawatt-hours2013: 155.4 terawatt-hours2014: 155.2 terawatt-hours2015: 162.2 terawatt-hours2016: 162.4 terawatt-hours2017: 159.2 terawatt-hours2018: 156.6 terawatt-hours2019: 149.8 terawatt-hours2020: 142.9 terawatt-hours2021: 137.4 terawatt-hours2022: 129.2 terawatt-hours2023: 125.6 terawatt-hours2024: 127.3 terawatt-hours2025: 122.3 terawatt-hours

Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.

Analysis

Australia recorded 122.35 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from coal in 2025.

That represents a change of down 3.9% on the previous year and down 24.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, electricity generation from coal in Australia peaked at 185.76 terawatt-hours in 2006 and was at its lowest, 89.37 terawatt-hours, in 1985.

Australia ranks 10th of 207 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 100.37 terawatt-hours 89.37 terawatt-hours 113.56 terawatt-hours 5
1990s 143.57 terawatt-hours 123.36 terawatt-hours 171.16 terawatt-hours 10
2000s 180.51 terawatt-hours 171.86 terawatt-hours 185.76 terawatt-hours 10
2010s 161.42 terawatt-hours 149.84 terawatt-hours 176.02 terawatt-hours 10
2020s 130.81 terawatt-hours 122.35 terawatt-hours 142.93 terawatt-hours 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 7 South Africa 197.5 terawatt-hours compare
  2. 8 South Korea 194.53 terawatt-hours compare
  3. 9 Vietnam 149.24 terawatt-hours compare
  4. 11 Turkey 121.4 terawatt-hours compare
  5. 12 Taiwan 104.55 terawatt-hours compare
  6. 13 Germany 103.15 terawatt-hours compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More energy & mining data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is electricity generation from coal in Australia?
Electricity generation from coal in Australia was 122.35 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest electricity generation from coal recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 185.76 terawatt-hours in 2006.
What is the lowest electricity generation from coal recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 89.37 terawatt-hours in 1985.
How does Australia rank for electricity generation from coal?
Australia ranks 10th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
Is electricity generation from coal rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Electricity generation from coal
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
213 places, 6,154 data points, 1920–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours.