What is the highest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Australia?

The highest recorded value was 1.80 million tonnes in 1993.

What is the lowest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Australia?

The lowest recorded value was 0 tonnes in 1750.

How does Australia rank for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?

Australia ranks 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions rising or falling in Australia?

Over the last ten years it is down 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Australia data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia

Name: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Australia: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions was 1.05 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

1.05 million tonnes

Change on year

down 2.5%

World rank

16th

of 220 countries

All-time high

1.80 million tonnes

in 1993

All-time low

0 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Australia recorded 1.05 million tonnes for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 20.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia peaked at 1.80 million tonnes in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0 tonnes, in 1750.

Australia ranks 16th of 220 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	10
1760s	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	10
1770s	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	0 tonnes	10
1780s	0.1907 tonnes	0 tonnes	0.3811 tonnes	10
1790s	0.8604 tonnes	0.4234 tonnes	1.3 tonnes	10
1800s	2.84 tonnes	1.39 tonnes	4.29 tonnes	10
1810s	9.7 tonnes	4.61 tonnes	14.78 tonnes	10
1820s	32.28 tonnes	15.9 tonnes	48.61 tonnes	10
1830s	86.55 tonnes	52.22 tonnes	120.75 tonnes	10
1840s	4,328 tonnes	128.31 tonnes	15,186 tonnes	10
1850s	11,528 tonnes	6,324 tonnes	16,794 tonnes	10
1860s	21,444 tonnes	17,962 tonnes	24,740 tonnes	10
1870s	29,690 tonnes	24,522 tonnes	36,270 tonnes	10
1880s	54,168 tonnes	37,866 tonnes	71,670 tonnes	10
1890s	108,236 tonnes	74,269 tonnes	157,186 tonnes	10
1900s	233,104 tonnes	184,760 tonnes	287,188 tonnes	10
1910s	299,374 tonnes	260,157 tonnes	340,760 tonnes	10
1920s	279,045 tonnes	199,195 tonnes	353,628 tonnes	10
1930s	380,043 tonnes	310,183 tonnes	489,451 tonnes	10
1940s	437,264 tonnes	384,010 tonnes	491,529 tonnes	10
1950s	662,520 tonnes	491,983 tonnes	826,389 tonnes	10
1960s	1.07 million tonnes	913,804 tonnes	1.46 million tonnes	10
1970s	1.48 million tonnes	1.34 million tonnes	1.60 million tonnes	10
1980s	1.54 million tonnes	1.48 million tonnes	1.66 million tonnes	10
1990s	1.58 million tonnes	1.28 million tonnes	1.80 million tonnes	10
2000s	1.41 million tonnes	1.36 million tonnes	1.55 million tonnes	10
2010s	1.21 million tonnes	1.02 million tonnes	1.34 million tonnes	10
2020s	1.02 million tonnes	948,680 tonnes	1.07 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Australia

13 Brazil 1.13 million tonnes compare
14 Peru 1.11 million tonnes compare
15 Kazakhstan 1.06 million tonnes compare
17 Singapore 1.03 million tonnes compare
18 Uzbekistan 1.02 million tonnes compare
19 United Arab Emirates 874,177 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More energy & mining data for Australia

Fuel imports 11.7% (2025)
Ores and metals imports 1.9% (2025)
Ores and metals exports 34.6% (2025)
Gas production 1,486 terawatt-hours (2025)
Fossil fuel production per person, by fuel 55,080 kilowatt-hours per person (2025)
Fossil fuel production by fuel 1,486 terawatt-hours (2025)
Gas production per person 55,080 kilowatt-hours per person (2025)
Fuel exports 26.9% (2025)
Electric power transmission and distribution losses 4.7% (2024)
Share of dietary energy supply from carbohydrates vs. GDP per capita 45.8% (2023)

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia?: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions in Australia was 1.05 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Australia?: The highest recorded value was 1.80 million tonnes in 1993.
What is the lowest coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions recorded in Australia?: The lowest recorded value was 0 tonnes in 1750.
How does Australia rank for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?: Australia ranks 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions rising or falling in Australia?: Over the last ten years it is down 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Australia data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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: 07 August 2026

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.