Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions by country

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.

Countries reporting
214
Highest
11.28 million tonnes
India
Lowest
0 tonnes
Palestine
Median
27,412 tonnes
Years covered
273
1750–2022
Data points
60,060

What the numbers show

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions is currently reported for 214 countries. The highest value is 11.28 million tonnes in India; the lowest is 0 tonnes in Palestine.

The median across all reporting countries is 27,412 tonnes, and the mean is 340,994 tonnes.

Over the past decade 86 countries rose and 126 fell. The largest increase was in Laos (up 2,875.2%), and the largest decrease in Ukraine (down 90.6%).

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 India 11.28 million tonnes 2022 up 32.9% volatile
2 China 10.38 million tonnes 2022 down 66.7% volatile
3 Russia 5.25 million tonnes 2022 down 11.9% volatile
4 Indonesia 3.82 million tonnes 2022 up 48.7% volatile
5 Saudi Arabia 3.46 million tonnes 2022 up 2.8% volatile
6 Turkey 2.99 million tonnes 2022 up 32.1% volatile
7 South Africa 2.83 million tonnes 2022 down 13.1% volatile
8 Iran 2.19 million tonnes 2022 down 19.4% volatile
9 Mexico 2.11 million tonnes 2022 down 9.8% volatile
10 Pakistan 2.07 million tonnes 2022 up 66.9% volatile
11 United States 2.00 million tonnes 2022 down 64.1% volatile
12 Vietnam 1.29 million tonnes 2022 up 134.9% volatile
13 Brazil 1.13 million tonnes 2022 down 26.4% volatile
14 Peru 1.11 million tonnes 2022 up 5.6% volatile
15 Kazakhstan 1.06 million tonnes 2022 down 5.2% volatile
16 Australia 1.05 million tonnes 2022 down 20.1% volatile
17 Singapore 1.03 million tonnes 2022 down 55.5% volatile
18 Uzbekistan 1.02 million tonnes 2022 up 29.6% volatile
19 United Arab Emirates 874,177 tonnes 2022 down 26.4% volatile
20 Philippines 867,955 tonnes 2022 up 78.3% volatile
21 Iraq 773,825 tonnes 2022 up 5.5% volatile
22 Bangladesh 646,979 tonnes 2022 up 190.4% volatile
23 Serbia 642,734 tonnes 2022 down 19.0% volatile
24 Canada 629,055 tonnes 2022 down 49.6% volatile
25 Malaysia 620,594 tonnes 2022 up 22.1% volatile
26 Japan 617,600 tonnes 2022 down 42.2% volatile
27 Thailand 597,814 tonnes 2022 down 25.2% volatile
28 Egypt 563,150 tonnes 2022 down 24.0% volatile
29 Kuwait 448,963 tonnes 2022 down 8.6% volatile
30 Chile 410,897 tonnes 2022 down 33.3% volatile
31 Poland 376,349 tonnes 2022 down 49.9% volatile
32 South Korea 360,360 tonnes 2022 down 53.9% volatile
33 Germany 281,794 tonnes 2022 down 42.2% volatile
34 Cuba 268,354 tonnes 2022 down 35.1% volatile
35 Laos 256,495 tonnes 2022 up 2,875.2% volatile
36 Turkmenistan 249,083 tonnes 2022 down 1.5% volatile
37 Zambia 239,970 tonnes 2022 down 49.0% volatile
38 Spain 236,196 tonnes 2022 down 64.9% volatile
39 Bosnia and Herzegovina 232,714 tonnes 2022 up 3.8% volatile
40 Netherlands 213,298 tonnes 2022 down 67.9% volatile
41 Qatar 195,356 tonnes 2022 down 28.8% volatile
42 North Korea 185,582 tonnes 2022 down 11.9% volatile
43 Venezuela 180,375 tonnes 2022 down 73.6% volatile
44 Hong Kong 172,497 tonnes 2022 down 64.5% volatile
45 Sri Lanka 171,105 tonnes 2022 down 0.9% volatile
46 Israel 169,703 tonnes 2022 down 63.6% volatile
47 Belgium 153,447 tonnes 2022 down 55.0% volatile
48 Syria 151,184 tonnes 2022 down 35.5% volatile
49 Myanmar 148,612 tonnes 2022 up 151.5% volatile
50 United Kingdom 140,141 tonnes 2022 down 74.8% volatile
51 Colombia 136,660 tonnes 2022 down 25.3% volatile
52 Ecuador 132,483 tonnes 2022 down 29.0% volatile
53 Ukraine 132,348 tonnes 2022 down 90.6% volatile
54 Mongolia 129,623 tonnes 2022 up 31.9% volatile
55 Argentina 123,333 tonnes 2022 down 49.8% volatile
56 Dominican Republic 119,097 tonnes 2022 up 21.4% volatile
57 Nigeria 119,082 tonnes 2022 up 20.7% volatile
58 Italy 118,215 tonnes 2022 down 60.4% volatile
59 Greece 117,652 tonnes 2022 down 57.7% volatile
60 Namibia 116,169 tonnes 2022 down 50.5% volatile
61 Morocco 115,647 tonnes 2022 down 59.9% volatile
62 Oman 108,993 tonnes 2022 down 20.3% volatile
63 France 102,305 tonnes 2022 down 70.2% volatile
64 Libya 95,896 tonnes 2022 down 43.9% volatile
65 Nepal 90,390 tonnes 2022 up 119.7% volatile
66 Guatemala 89,373 tonnes 2022 up 31.7% volatile
67 Panama 87,929 tonnes 2022 down 61.1% volatile
68 Angola 87,705 tonnes 2022 up 30.1% volatile
69 Senegal 82,277 tonnes 2022 up 125.0% volatile
70 Taiwan 81,206 tonnes 2022 down 53.5% volatile
71 North Macedonia 78,407 tonnes 2022 down 14.0% volatile
72 Gibraltar 76,371 tonnes 2022 down 61.0% volatile
73 Belarus 75,907 tonnes 2022 down 13.9% volatile
74 Czechia 71,555 tonnes 2022 down 53.4% volatile
75 Lebanon 70,773 tonnes 2022 down 21.5% volatile
76 Romania 70,162 tonnes 2022 down 73.0% volatile
77 Brunei 67,787 tonnes 2022 up 245.1% volatile
78 New Zealand 65,892 tonnes 2022 down 21.4% volatile
79 Bahrain 62,960 tonnes 2022 up 72.2% volatile
80 Honduras 61,501 tonnes 2022 down 15.6% volatile
81 Cambodia 60,772 tonnes 2022 up 104.5% volatile
82 Curacao 55,315 tonnes 2022 down 71.9% volatile
83 Algeria 55,289 tonnes 2022 down 32.0% volatile
84 Ethiopia 53,956 tonnes 2022 up 20.9% volatile
85 Sweden 53,054 tonnes 2022 down 49.3% volatile
86 Zimbabwe 51,721 tonnes 2022 down 24.0% volatile
87 Bulgaria 51,645 tonnes 2022 down 83.8% volatile
88 Portugal 48,646 tonnes 2022 down 42.5% volatile
89 Kenya 48,013 tonnes 2022 down 19.3% volatile
90 Mauritius 46,644 tonnes 2022 up 29.3% volatile
91 Kyrgyzstan 45,451 tonnes 2022 down 55.1% volatile
92 Jordan 44,436 tonnes 2022 down 66.9% volatile
93 Tunisia 42,951 tonnes 2022 down 28.0% volatile
94 Madagascar 39,870 tonnes 2022 up 102.7% volatile
95 Ghana 39,804 tonnes 2022 down 32.0% volatile
96 Botswana 39,465 tonnes 2022 down 16.6% volatile
97 Sudan 37,076 tonnes 2022 down 36.1% volatile
98 Jamaica 36,727 tonnes 2022 down 43.3% volatile
99 Armenia 35,482 tonnes 2022 down 4.7% volatile
100 Yemen 34,714 tonnes 2022 down 61.3% volatile
101 Puerto Rico 33,635 tonnes 2022 down 48.9% volatile
103 Mozambique 31,978 tonnes 2022 up 18.3% volatile
104 Reunion 30,938 tonnes 2022 up 55.1% volatile
105 Afghanistan 29,743 tonnes 2022 up 9.8% volatile
106 Finland 28,952 tonnes 2022 down 49.2% volatile
107 Cameroon 27,967 tonnes 2022 up 2.0% volatile
108 Uruguay 27,843 tonnes 2022 down 55.9% volatile
109 Tajikistan 26,981 tonnes 2022 up 15.6% volatile
110 Papua New Guinea 26,406 tonnes 2022 up 2.2% volatile
111 Aruba 25,010 tonnes 2022 down 76.2% volatile
112 El Salvador 24,484 tonnes 2022 down 44.0% volatile
113 Nicaragua 23,957 tonnes 2022 down 33.1% volatile
114 Tanzania 23,190 tonnes 2022 down 43.0% volatile
115 New Caledonia 23,163 tonnes 2022 up 27.6% volatile
116 Guinea 21,902 tonnes 2022 up 78.1% volatile
117 Trinidad and Tobago 21,354 tonnes 2022 down 25.9% volatile
118 Azerbaijan 20,944 tonnes 2022 down 9.2% volatile
119 Lithuania 20,844 tonnes 2022 down 40.9% volatile
120 Democratic Republic of Congo 19,691 tonnes 2022 down 3.0% volatile
121 Suriname 19,512 tonnes 2022 down 4.9% volatile
122 Burkina Faso 18,195 tonnes 2022 up 65.5% volatile
123 Norway 17,144 tonnes 2022 down 45.5% volatile
124 Estonia 16,806 tonnes 2022 down 70.6% volatile
125 Cote d'Ivoire 16,314 tonnes 2022 down 27.2% volatile
126 Lesotho 16,282 tonnes 2022 up 40.4% volatile
127 Mauritania 16,034 tonnes 2022 up 67.7% volatile
128 Uganda 15,018 tonnes 2022 up 0.3% volatile
129 Haiti 14,789 tonnes 2022 up 11.5% volatile
130 Bolivia 14,462 tonnes 2022 down 14.0% volatile
131 Slovakia 13,904 tonnes 2022 down 75.6% volatile
132 Cyprus 13,472 tonnes 2022 down 41.3% volatile
133 Hungary 13,237 tonnes 2022 down 56.7% volatile
134 Guyana 13,191 tonnes 2022 up 13.4% volatile
135 Iceland 13,139 tonnes 2022 down 29.1% volatile
136 Mali 12,162 tonnes 2022 up 57.2% volatile
137 Denmark 12,102 tonnes 2022 down 56.3% volatile
138 Austria 11,554 tonnes 2022 down 25.5% volatile
140 Malawi 10,657 tonnes 2022 up 58.0% volatile
141 Paraguay 10,574 tonnes 2022 down 33.8% volatile
142 Costa Rica 9,892 tonnes 2022 down 63.2% volatile
143 Niger 9,506 tonnes 2022 down 3.1% volatile
144 Benin 9,388 tonnes 2022 up 45.4% volatile
145 Congo 8,869 tonnes 2022 up 8.3% volatile
146 Albania 8,349 tonnes 2022 down 13.8% volatile
147 Moldova 8,206 tonnes 2022 up 26.0% volatile
148 Montenegro 7,595 tonnes 2022 down 75.6% volatile
149 Liberia 7,352 tonnes 2022 up 74.9% volatile
150 Bhutan 7,076 tonnes 2022 up 18.3% volatile
151 Gabon 6,815 tonnes 2022 down 53.8% volatile
152 Sierra Leone 6,586 tonnes 2022 up 67.6% volatile
153 Croatia 6,544 tonnes 2022 down 70.5% volatile
154 Eritrea 6,502 tonnes 2022 up 48.9% volatile
155 Rwanda 6,458 tonnes 2022 up 36.5% volatile
156 Somalia 6,101 tonnes 2022 up 42.8% volatile
157 South Sudan 5,605 tonnes 2022 up 36.5% volatile
158 Togo 5,436 tonnes 2022 up 46.8% volatile
159 Slovenia 5,295 tonnes 2022 down 59.6% volatile
160 Seychelles 5,202 tonnes 2022 up 56.4% volatile
161 Eswatini 5,182 tonnes 2022 up 58.6% volatile
162 Switzerland 5,084 tonnes 2022 down 50.6% volatile
163 Maldives 4,956 tonnes 2022 up 6.5% volatile
164 Fiji 4,853 tonnes 2022 up 0.1% volatile
165 Equatorial Guinea 4,507 tonnes 2022 up 81.0% volatile
166 Latvia 4,349 tonnes 2022 down 65.3% volatile
167 Djibouti 4,317 tonnes 2022 up 62.4% volatile
168 Georgia 4,163 tonnes 2022 up 3.0% volatile
169 Macao 3,830 tonnes 2022 up 9.7% volatile
170 Cape Verde 3,763 tonnes 2022 up 54.6% volatile
171 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 3,666 tonnes 2022 down 48.9% volatile
172 Bahamas 3,657 tonnes 2022 down 36.6% volatile
173 Gambia 3,438 tonnes 2022 up 81.8% volatile
174 Chad 3,394 tonnes 2022 up 1.6% volatile
175 French Polynesia 3,261 tonnes 2022 up 6.9% volatile
177 Burundi 2,968 tonnes 2022 up 13.1% volatile
178 Central African Republic 2,890 tonnes 2022 up 43.7% volatile
180 Barbados 2,387 tonnes 2022 down 34.4% volatile
181 Guinea-Bissau 2,155 tonnes 2022 up 66.4% volatile
183 Comoros 1,367 tonnes 2022 up 70.4% volatile
184 Samoa 1,224 tonnes 2022 up 2.4% volatile
185 Palau 1,165 tonnes 2022 up 0.0% volatile
186 French Guiana 1,080 tonnes 2022 down 24.0% volatile
187 Solomon Islands 1,042 tonnes 2022 up 1.9% volatile
188 East Timor 1,038 tonnes 2022 up 2.4% volatile
189 United States Virgin Islands 965.77 tonnes 2022 down 48.9% volatile
190 Micronesia (country) 934.13 tonnes 2022 up 2.0% volatile
191 Antigua and Barbuda 867.46 tonnes 2022 down 31.3% volatile
192 Sao Tome and Principe 841.57 tonnes 2022 up 75.6% volatile
193 Cayman Islands 820.08 tonnes 2022 down 12.0% volatile
194 Belize 786.68 tonnes 2022 down 12.8% volatile
195 Vanuatu 766.69 tonnes 2022 up 2.7% volatile
196 Bermuda 689.55 tonnes 2022 down 23.5% volatile
197 Saint Lucia 590.4 tonnes 2022 down 9.9% volatile
198 Tonga 553.16 tonnes 2022 up 1.4% volatile
199 Saint Kitts and Nevis 533.08 tonnes 2022 down 4.1% volatile
200 American Samoa 503.5 tonnes 2022 down 48.9% volatile
201 Marshall Islands 384.82 tonnes 2022 up 9.6% volatile
202 Grenada 350.26 tonnes 2022 down 10.4% volatile
203 Kiribati 335.93 tonnes 2022 up 0.9% volatile
204 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 309.3 tonnes 2022 down 4.3% volatile
205 Cook Islands 262.42 tonnes 2022 up 7.9% volatile
206 Turks and Caicos Islands 240.05 tonnes 2022 down 4.4% volatile
207 British Virgin Islands 223.84 tonnes 2022 down 4.3% volatile
208 Dominica 160.9 tonnes 2022 down 4.3% volatile
209 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 113.68 tonnes 2022 down 30.0% volatile
210 Montserrat 107.34 tonnes 2022 down 11.3% volatile
211 Wallis and Futuna 98.55 tonnes 2022 up 7.1% volatile
212 Western Sahara 83.02 tonnes 2022 down 17.2% volatile
213 Falkland Islands 55.32 tonnes 2022 down 22.7% volatile
214 Niue 40.83 tonnes 2022 up 9.7% volatile
215 Greenland 2.15 tonnes 2022 up 0.7% volatile
216 Faroe Islands 0.6963 tonnes 2022 down 1.5% rising
217 Tokelau 0.2245 tonnes 2022 up 5.1% volatile
219 Guam 0 tonnes 2022 volatile
219 Palestine 0 tonnes 2022 flat

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.