Ranked: Countries That Use the Most of Each Fossil Fuel

Which Countries Use the Most Fossil Coal, Gas, and Oil?

Key Takeaways

• China consumed 3,147 million tonnes of coal equivalent in 2025, accounting for 56% of global coal consumption.

• The U.S. leads in both oil and natural gas consumption, using nearly twice as much gas as second-place Russia.

• India ranks second for coal and third for oil, but only 11th for natural gas.

Coal, oil, and natural gas consumption all reached record highs in 2025, but different countries lead demand for each fuel. These rankings partly reflect which energy resources countries produce domestically.

This graphic ranks the biggest consumers of each fuel in 2025, using data from the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2026. Coal is measured in million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce), a unit of energy content rather than physical weight.

China Leads in Coal Consumption, the U.S. in Oil and Gas

China burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. Its 3,147 Mtce was four times second-place India’s 787 Mtce in 2025. China is also the world’s largest coal producer, and coal generated 54% of its electricity that year.

The U.S. leads in the other two fuels. Its 19.4 million barrels of oil per day topped China’s 17.4 million, while its 32.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas was nearly double Russia’s 17.0 Tcf. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of both oil and gas, with natural gas serving as its largest source of electricity.

The table below shows coal, oil, and natural gas consumption in 2025 for the 79 economies the Energy Institute reports individually, sorted by coal consumption:

CountryFossil Fuel Consumption in 2025

Coal

(Millions tonnes coal eq.)Oil

(Million of bpd)Natural Gas

(Trillion Cubic Feet)

China3,147.317.3615.61

India787.25.642.35

United States297.919.4032.26

Indonesia175.91.701.71

Japan148.73.313.19

South Africa124.40.470.17

Russia121.43.6416.95

South Korea97.42.832.22

Vietnam87.70.700.20

Türkiye61.01.221.99

Kazakhstan53.60.390.84

Germany51.02.042.77

Australia49.81.091.37

Poland45.80.720.78

Taiwan43.70.861.11

Malaysia37.60.971.63

Philippines31.90.510.14

Thailand20.31.231.67

Brazil20.22.611.17

Pakistan16.30.451.20

Bangladesh14.50.280.97

Czechia13.00.210.25

Ukraine12.10.280.80

Morocco9.60.330.03

Canada8.42.394.67

Mexico7.41.793.52

Uzbekistan6.90.151.57

Netherlands6.50.840.92

Chile5.50.400.28

France5.41.351.08

Colombia4.80.440.41

Bulgaria4.80.110.09

Belgium4.10.580.48

Hong Kong3.60.320.19

United Arab Emirates3.61.092.49

Austria3.30.220.26

Estonia3.10.030.01

Romania3.00.240.34

Spain3.01.271.11

Italy2.91.202.12

Finland2.60.170.04

Israel2.60.210.48

Slovakia2.50.080.16

Iran2.32.019.05

Sweden2.10.260.03

Egypt2.00.782.17

Sri Lanka1.90.13

United Kingdom1.71.342.16

New Zealand1.50.160.10

Belarus1.30.160.56

Norway1.10.210.12

Argentina1.10.601.54

Greece1.00.300.25

North Macedonia0.90.020.01

Peru0.90.300.36

Slovenia0.70.050.03

Hungary0.60.160.30

Singapore0.51.480.47

Ireland0.40.150.17

Croatia0.30.080.09

Kuwait0.30.510.91

Venezuela0.30.311.10

Denmark0.30.130.06

Saudi Arabia0.23.864.72

Oman0.20.261.16

Iceland0.10.02

Lithuania0.10.060.06

Switzerland0.10.190.11

Luxembourg0.00.040.02

Cyprus0.00.05

Algeria0.00.471.91

Latvia0.00.030.03

Qatar0.00.391.55

Ecuador0.00.290.02

Portugal0.00.220.14

Azerbaijan0.00.130.43

Iraq0.00.890.65

Turkmenistan0.00.151.22

Trinidad and Tobago0.00.030.46

China and the U.S. are the only countries ranking among the top three consumers of all three fuels. Together, they accounted for 61% of global coal consumption, 36% of oil, and 32% of natural gas.

The U.S. ranks third for coal at 298 Mtce, after its consumption rose 10% in 2025 as higher natural gas prices made coal-fired power more competitive.

Big Coal and Gas Users Mostly Produce Their Own

The biggest natural gas consumers are also mostly major gas producers.

Russia, second in gas consumption, is also the second-largest producer. Iran ranks fourth at 9.1 Tcf, more than Japan and Germany combined, and consumes nearly all the gas it produces. Saudi Arabia, fourth for oil and fifth for gas, generates more electricity from oil than any other country.

A similar pattern holds for coal. Indonesia ranks fourth at 176 Mtce and South Africa sixth at 124 Mtce, with both countries mining more coal than they consume. South Africa generates most of its electricity from coal, while ranking just 57th for natural gas consumption.

India presents a different picture. It ranks second for coal but only 11th for natural gas at 2.4 Tcf, just behind the much smaller United Arab Emirates. India mines most of the coal it consumes but produces less than half its natural gas, importing the rest as liquefied natural gas.

Japan and South Korea are notable exceptions to the production-consumption pattern. Both import nearly all their coal, oil, and natural gas, yet rank among the top 12 consumers of each fuel.

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