List of countries by coal reserves
The reserve list specifies different types of coal and includes countries with at least 0.1% share of the estimated world's proven reserves of coal. All data are taken from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) via BP; all numbers are in million tonnes.[1] However BP no longer publishes coal reserves and the Energy Institute has not updated the figures since 2020.[2][3]
Background
[edit]Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.[4]
As a fossil fuel burned for heat, coal supplies about a quarter of the world's primary energy and two-fifths of its electricity.[5]
The largest consumer and importer of coal is China. China mines almost half the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. Australia accounts for about a third of world coal exports, followed by Indonesia and Russia.[6]
Coal is largely held in the Earth in areas that it needs to be mined from, and is generally present in coal seams.
Estimation of proved reserves
[edit]Unlike "resources", which is the amount that could technically be extracted, according to BP in 2019 "total proved reserves of coal" is "generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions".[1] Thus, like oil reserves, coal reserves can vary with coal and carbon prices. There are various definitions of "reserve".[7]
Unlike the internationally traded commodities hard or soft coal, lignite is not traded far from the place where it is mined because of its low value relative to transport costs, so it does not have a national price.[8] For example lignite costs within India vary greatly.[9]
The IEA does not define “reserve” or proven reserves for coal, only for oil and gas.[10] However the EIA defines US “recoverable coal reserves”.[11]
List (2023)
[edit]
List (2018)
[edit]| Country | Anthracite & bituminous | Subbituminous & lignite | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnes (mil) |
% | Tonnes (mil) |
% | Tonnes (mil) |
% | |
 United States
|
220,167 | 30% | 30,052 | 9.4% | 250,219 | 24% |
 Russia
|
69,634 | 9.5% | 90,730 | 28.4% | 160,364 | 15% |
 Australia
|
70,927 | 9.7% | 76,508 | 23.9% | 147,435 | 14% |
 China
|
130,851 | 17.8% | 7,968 | 2.5% | 138,819 | 13% |
 India
|
96,468 | 13.1% | 4,895 | 1.5% | 101,363 | 10% |
 Indonesia
|
26,122 | 3.6% | 10,878 | 3.4% | 37,000 | 4% |
 Germany
|
3 | 0% | 36,100 | 11.3% | 36,103 | 3% |
 Ukraine
|
32,039 | 4.4% | 2,336 | 0.7% | 34,375 | 3% |
 Poland
|
20,542 | 2.8% | 5,937 | 1.9% | 26,479 | 3% |
 Kazakhstan
|
25,605 | 3.5% | 0 | 0% | 25,605 | 2% |
 Turkey
|
551 | 0.1% | 10,975 | 3.4% | 11,526 | 1% |
 South Africa
|
9,893 | 1.3% | 0 | 0% | 9,893 | 1% |
 Mongolia
|
6,400 | 0.9% | 1,350 | 0.4% | 7,750 | 1% |
 New Zealand
|
825 | 0.1% | 6,750 | 2.1% | 7,575 | 1% |
 Serbia
|
402 | 0.1% | 7,112 | 2.2% | 7,514 | 1% |
 Brazil
|
1,547 | 0.2% | 5,049 | 1.6% | 6,596 | 1% |
 Canada
|
4,346 | 0.6% | 2,236 | 0.7% | 6,582 | 1% |
 Colombia
|
4,881 | 0.7% | 0 | 0% | 4,881 | 0% |
 Vietnam
|
3,116 | 0.4% | 244 | 0.1% | 3,360 | 0% |
 Pakistan
|
207 | 0% | 2,857 | 0.9% | 3,064 | 0% |
 Hungary
|
276 | 0% | 2,633 | 0.8% | 2,909 | 0% |
 Greece
|
0 | 0% | 2,876 | 0.9% | 2,876 | 0% |
 Czech Republic
|
110 | 0% | 2,547 | 0.8% | 2,657 | 0% |
 Bulgaria
|
192 | 0% | 2,174 | 0.7% | 2,366 | 0% |
 Uzbekistan
|
1,375 | 0.2% | 0 | 0% | 1,375 | 0% |
 Mexico
|
1,160 | 0.2% | 51 | 0% | 1,211 | 0% |
 Spain
|
868 | 0.1% | 319 | 0.1% | 1,187 | 0% |
 Thailand
|
0 | 0% | 1,063 | 0.3% | 1,063 | 0% |
 Venezuela
|
731 | 0.1% | 0 | 0% | 731 | 0% |
| World | 734,903 | 100% | 319,879 | 100% | 1,054,782 | 100% |
See also
[edit]- List of countries by coal production
- World energy supply and consumption
- World energy resources
- Estimated ultimate recovery
- Proven reserves
References
[edit]- ^ a b "BP Statistical review of world energy 2019" (PDF). British Petroleum. 2019. p. 42. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
- ^ "About the statistical review". Statistical review of world energy. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
Coal reserves …. Please note that these reserves tables have not been updated this year.
- ^ "Coal proved reserves". Our World in Data.
- ^ Blander, M. "Calculations of the Influence of Additives on Coal Combustion Deposits" (PDF). Argonne National Laboratory. p. 315. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ "Global energy data". International Energy Agency.
- ^ "Global energy data". International Energy Agency.
- ^ "How much coal is left – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ "Why is there no lignite market?". Euracoal. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ "Lignite at Best Price in India". IndiaMART. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "Glossary". IEA. Retrieved 2026-03-25.
- ^ "U.S. Coal Reserves - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". www.eia.gov. Archived from the original on 2026-02-28. Retrieved 2026-03-25.
- ^ "Coal rankings 2023". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 24, 2026.