Share of electricity generation from coal in Australia
Australia: Share of electricity generation from coal was 42.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of electricity generation from coal in Australia, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of electricity generation from coal in Australia is 42.7%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 41 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 33.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from coal in Australia peaked at 83.3% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 42.7%, in 2025.
Australia ranks 17th of 210 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from coal in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 72.3% | — |
| 1986 | 71.5% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 73.9% | +3.4% |
| 1988 | 73.9% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 75.0% | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 79.3% | +5.7% |
| 1991 | 80.5% | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 80.5% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 80.6% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 80.5% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 81.0% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 82.4% | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 83.3% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 82.7% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 83.1% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 80.2% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 76.9% | -4.1% |
| 2003 | 76.8% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 78.1% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 79.3% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 78.1% | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 76.3% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 75.1% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 72.8% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 70.1% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 67.1% | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 66.0% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 62.3% | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 62.7% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 63.9% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 62.9% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 61.5% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 59.6% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 56.4% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 53.9% | -4.3% |
| 2021 | 51.4% | -4.7% |
| 2022 | 47.3% | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 46.0% | -2.9% |
| 2024 | 45.2% | -1.7% |
| 2025 | 42.7% | -5.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 42.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 11.7%, 3.7× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 73.3% | 71.5% | 75.0% | 5 |
| 1990s | 81.4% | 79.3% | 83.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.7% | 72.8% | 83.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.2% | 56.4% | 70.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.8% | 42.7% | 53.9% | 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 electricity generation from coal in Australia?
- Share of electricity generation from coal in Australia was 42.7% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from coal recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.3% in 1997.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from coal recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.7% in 2025.
- How does Australia rank for share of electricity generation from coal?
- Australia ranks 17th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from coal rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Share 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
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.