Coal production and consumption statistics

Data extracted in May and July 2026

Planned article update: August 2027

Highlights

In 2025, the EU production of hard coal was 44 million tonnes, 84% less than the 277 million tonnes of 1990.

From 2018 to 2025, the EU halved its consumption of both hard coal (52%) and brown coal (50%).

In 2024, solar overtook coal as a source of electricity for the first time in the EU.

In 2024, the EU’s hard coal import dependency rate decreased to 57.2%, its lowest level since 2007.

Production of hard coal and brown coal, 2025

This article explains how consumption and supply of coal in the European Union (EU), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)^[1] and in candidate and potential candidate countries^[2] (with a specific focus on Western Balkan countries^[3]) have evolved, highlighting the trends in production and consumption of the main types of solid fossil fuels: hard coal and brown coal.

In addition, the article gives some figures on the supply of coke oven coke.

Consumption and production of hard coal

As illustrated in Figure 1, inland consumption of hard coal in the EU decreased steadily in the 1990s. Starting in 1999 and for almost a decade, the yearly hard coal consumption stabilised at around 300 million tonnes. After a first sharp decline in 2008 and another in 2009, consumption stabilised around a new plateau of 250 million tonnes from 2010 onwards. In 2019, another strong decline started, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The 2025 hard coal consumption of the EU is estimated to have reached 107 million tonnes, 52% less than 8 years ago.

Production of hard coal in the EU has decreased almost continuously from 1990, more consistently than consumption. In 2024, EU production was 44 million tonnes, 84% less than the 277 million tonnes of 1990. In 2025, 41% of inland consumption could be covered by production in the EU, compared with 71% in 1990. The gap between the 2 was mostly covered by imports (see Import dependency of hard coal). The 2025 figures are based on preliminary annual data.

In 1990, 13 EU countries of the current EU were producing hard coal. In 2025, after the phaseout of hard coal production by Bulgaria in 2014, Italy in 2016, and Spain and Germany in 2019, there were only 2 hard coal producers left in the EU: Poland and Czechia. Poland produced 44 million tonnes of hard coal (97% of the total EU production) and Czechia produced 1.3 million tonnes (3%). Compared to 2012, which was the last peak in the EU hard coal production (106 million tonnes), in 2025 Poland decreased its production by 46% and Czechia by 89%.

In 2025, Poland (45%) and Germany (23%) together accounted for two thirds of the total hard coal consumption in the EU, followed by the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy (each between 3% and 7%). Figure 2 presents the hard coal consumption in the EU countries from 2020 to 2025. With the exception of Malta, which stopped using hard coal in 1996, every other country in the EU reported consumption of hard coal ranging from a few thousand tonnes to several million tonnes.

One EFTA country, Norway, still produced hard coal in 2025. While stable in the 1990s at around 300 000 tonnes, Norway's hard coal production reached a peak of 4 million tonnes in 2007, before decreasing again to 93 000 tonnes in 2025, the year during which, in August, production stopped completely.

Consumption of hard coal by EFTA countries remained stable at around 1 million tonnes since 1990. In 2024, 2 EFTA countries, Norway and Iceland, reported a hard coal consumption of 840 000 tonnes.

In 2025, 2 candidate countries produced hard coal: Türkiye and Albania. Production in Türkiye hovered between 2 and 3 million tonnes from 1990 to 2013, but then decreased, reaching a new plateau of around 1.3 million tonnes in the mid-2010s. Albania started producing hard coal in small quantities in 2015; in 2025, the production reached 236 000 tonnes.

With the exception of Montenegro, every candidate and potential candidate country reported a consumption of hard coal ranging from a few thousand tonnes to several million tonnes. Consumption of hard coal in the Western Balkans never exceeded 3 million tonnes; in 2025, it reached just below 1 million tonnes, with Bosnia and Herzegovina representing half of the region's consumption.

Import dependency of hard coal

Solid fossil fuels had a lower energy dependency rate of 34.2% in 2024 compared with other fossil fuels, such as oil or natural gas (see Statistics Explained article on Energy statistics - an overview). However, this dependency rate accounts for all solid fossil fuels, including brown coal (with a high production and negligible trade) and many secondary products where the EU is a net exporter. Hard coal is the main type of coal with a noticeable import dependency, reaching 57.2% in 2024.

The curves for both solid fossil fuels and hard coal import dependency followed similar patterns (see Figure 3). Starting in 1990 at 18.7% for solid fossil fuels and 29.6% for hard coal, import dependency began to increase in the middle of the 1990s. By 2004, the rate of increase was slowing down, before reaching a temporary high point in 2018. After decreasing in 2020 and 2021, import dependency increased in 2022 to reach its highest level for both curves, with a rate of 45.9% for solid fossil fuels and 74.5% for hard coal. Another strong decrease in dependency rate started shortly after, and in 2024, import dependency reached its lowest level since 2007 for hard coal and since 2003 for solid fossil fuels.

The long-term increase in import dependency is due to the decrease in production observed since 1990 outpacing the one in consumption, with the gap between the 2 mostly filled by imports. In contrast, the peaks reached in 2022 could be partly explained by the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

In the 2010s, imports from most of the traditionally important hard coal suppliers decreased or remained stable while consumption of hard coal in the EU decreased. The exception was Russia, for which EU countries reported an increase in imports reaching a high of 61 million tonnes in 2018. In 2021, Russia still supplied more than half (52.4%) of the EU's hard coal imports. However, on 8 April 2022, the EU agreed on a ban of imports of coal from Russia in its fifth package of sanctions, with the ban entering into force in August 2022. As a result, imports of hard coal from Russia collapsed to 27 million tonnes in 2022, to 1 million tonnes in 2023 and to less than 250 000 tonnes in 2024, an unprecedented decrease of 99.5% compared to 2021.^[4] This led to a still consolidated, but more diversified network of hard coal suppliers to the EU, with 90% of net imports covered by 5 suppliers: Australia (32.1%), the United States (28.7%), Colombia (14.8%), Kazakhstan (8.4%) and South Africa (6.6%) (see Figure 4).

Coal imports also depend on market prices and other factors, which can lead to changes in suppliers. Traditional hard coal suppliers to the EU such as Ukraine, Venezuela or Norway have seen their imports decrease in recent years; at the same time, new suppliers such as Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Tanzania or Peru have emerged.

Consumption and production of brown coal

The 2025 consumption of brown coal in the EU is estimated at 184 million tonnes, 50% less than in 2018. Figure 5 presents the trend since 1990. In the 1990s, the consumption decreased rapidly, broadly stagnating between 2000 and 2015 in a range of 400 to 450 million tonnes per year. From 2018 to 2020, consumption decreased sharply, before increasing again in 2021 and 2022. With another large decrease from 2023 onwards, the EU consumption of brown coal is now estimated at a historical low.

The brown coal production trend is very similar to its consumption trend; brown coal is mostly consumed in the countries where it is produced, while imports and exports are negligible. The 2025 figures are based on preliminary annual data.

In 1990, 15 EU countries of the current EU were producing brown coal. This number slowly decreased over the following decades. Spain stopped its production in 2019, and Slovakia in 2024. Today, 8 EU countries still produce and consume brown coal in the EU.

In 2025, Germany represented 46% of the total brown coal consumption in the EU, followed by Poland (21%), Czechia (13%), Bulgaria (10%), Romania (7%) and Greece (3%). Figure 6 presents the brown coal consumption in the EU countries from 2019 to 2025.

Brown coal is absent from the EFTA countries' energy mix (production and consumption).

Unlike in the EU, brown coal consumption increased in candidate countries. It reached 147 million tonnes in 2025, 35% higher than in 1990. Türkiye accounted for 60% of this total consumption, having almost doubled its consumption from 46 million tonnes in 1990 to 88 million tonnes in 2025. The Western Balkan countries accounted for most of the remaining 40%, with Georgia and Moldova reporting minor consumptions of 168 000 tonnes and 900 tonnes respectively.

In 1990, 3 countries were producing and consuming brown coal in the Western Balkans: Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. Their combined consumption reached 54 million tonnes. From the year 2000, the 3 other Western Balkan countries also started producing brown coal. Western Balkan countries consumed 58 million tonnes of brown coal in 2025, an increase of 7% compared with 1990. The largest brown coal producer and consumer in the Western Balkans was Serbia, accounting for 60% of brown coal consumption in the region. In Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo*, the production and consumption never exceeded 10 million tonnes per year. Albania stopped its production in 2013, but started it again in 2023 in very low quantities, with almost all of them being exported.

^{Kosovo*: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.}

Deliveries of coal to power plants

In the EU, almost half of the quantities of hard coal (45% in 2024) and a large majority of brown coal (92% in 2024) is used for power production. In 2024, 50 million tonnes of hard coal were delivered to power plants producing electricity and heat in the EU. For brown coal, this amount was 185 million tonnes. The 2025 figures are based on preliminary annual data.

Figure 7 shows that from 2013 to 2020, both hard coal and brown coal deliveries for power production showed declining trends, which accelerated in 2019 and 2020. After increases in deliveries in 2021 and 2022, they strongly fell in 2023 and 2024 to reach their lowest levels on record.

In the EFTA countries, deliveries of hard coal to power plants fluctuated around 30 000 tonnes between 1990 and 2023, and stopped completely in 2024; they represented only a marginal use of hard coal (3% in 2023) as EFTA countries use hard coal mainly in their industry sector. In candidate and potential candidate countries, deliveries of hard coal to power plants, mainly by Türkiye, reached 28 million tonnes in 2024, representing 65% of the use of hard coal. As in the EU, a large majority of brown coal used in candidate countries was delivered to power plants: 129 million tonnes, or 91% of brown coal consumption. An even higher percentage of 98% was observed in Western Balkan countries.

Brown coal has a low energy content, and does not have a lot of potential uses besides electricity and heat generation. In most EU countries using brown coal in 2024, at least 90% of brown coal was used to produce electricity and heat (see Figure 8). In Hungary, Poland, Greece, Slovenia, as well as Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo, this share reached more than 98%. In countries where the shares were lower, such as Slovakia, Bulgaria, Germany or Türkiye, brown coal was also used to produce other energy products such as brown coal briquettes, for industry purposes, and sometimes by households to heat their homes.

Contrary to brown coal, hard coal has a wide variety of applications in the industry sector, for example in coke ovens (see Figure 12). Hard coal has a high energy content and thus can produce electricity and heat more effectively than brown coal. However, because of its environmental and health issues, countries replace it more and more with natural gas and renewable energy sources.

Since 1990, the importance of coal in electricity production decreased almost continuously, with slight rebounds in 2011 and 2021-2022 (see Figure 9). In 1990, coal (hard coal and brown coal)^[5] was the largest source of electricity in the EU, with a share of 35% of electricity generation. This share was overtaken by nuclear heat in 1994, by natural gas in 2019, by hydro and wind in 2023 and by solar in 2024.

In 1990, hard coal and brown coal were respectively the second and third largest source of electricity production in the EU, with respectively 20% and 15% of the gross production. In contrast in 2025, 4% of total gross electricity produced in the EU was based on hard coal and 5% on brown coal, representing respectively around 106 000 GWh and 154 000 GWh (see Figure 9): they were respectively the seventh and sixth source of electricity generation, behind nuclear heat, natural gas and renewable fuels.

In candidate and potential candidate countries, coal played a much more important role in electricity generation. In these countries, the shares of hard coal and brown coal used in the production of electricity reached 17% and 19% respectively in 2024, comparable to natural gas (16%), but lower than hydro (25%). This large share for coal was particularly striking in Western Balkan countries, where brown coal was the single largest source of electricity production; with around 43 000 GWh of production in 2024, brown coal provided 55% of the electricity consumed in the Western Balkans, ahead of hydro with 33% (see Figure 10). Despite the critical importance of brown coal in the Western Balkans’ energy mix, its share has declined to the benefit of renewables in recent years.

In 2024, 19 EU countries used hard coal in their production of electricity; however, this share of hard coal went above 0.5% in only 12 of these countries. The only EU country where hard coal played a significant role in electricity generation was Poland; with a share of 33%, hard coal was the first source of electricity. In other EU countries, the share of hard coal did not exceed 7% of electricity production. In candidate countries, hard coal only played a major role in the production of electricity in Türkiye, with a share of 22%, compared to 12% for brown coal.

In 2024, brown coal was used in electricity generation in the 9 EU countries that were producing it, as well as in 5 Western Balkan countries and Türkiye. In contrast to hard coal, brown coal is sometimes a major source of electricity production. However, whereas in recent years brown coal supplied more than 40% of electricity in many EU countries, in 2023 its shares declined dramatically. In 2024, its share in electricity generation reached 34% in Czechia, and 21% in Bulgaria, Poland and Slovenia. In contrast, brown coal still played a major role in electricity generation in Western Balkan countries, providing 37% of the electricity generation in North Macedonia, 40% in Montenegro, 61% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 63% in Serbia and 91% in Kosovo (see Figure 11).

When adding both types of coal together, Poland stood out as the only EU country in which coal was the largest source of electricity, and the only one in which more than half of electricity generation relied on coal (55%). Coal was the second-largest source of electricity in Czechia (36%) and Bulgaria (21%) behind nuclear heat, and in Germany (21%) behind wind. Finally, coal was the third-largest source of electricity in Slovenia (21%) behind nuclear heat and hydro. In non-EU countries, coal was the largest source of electricity in Kosovo (91%), Serbia (63%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (61%), North Macedonia (37%) and Türkiye (34%); it was the second-largest source of electricity in Montenegro (40%) behind hydro.

In much smaller quantities, hard coal and brown coal still play a role in the production of heat. In 2025, 11% of total gross heat produced in the EU was based on hard coal (around 224 000 TJ) and 3% on brown coal (around 69 000 TJ); compared with 1990, their respective shares decreased by 24% and 13%. In 1990, hard coal was the first source of heat production in the EU, but it has been progressively replaced by natural gas and primary solid biofuels.

Deliveries of coal to coking plants and coke oven coke production

Hard coal (more specifically coking coal) is essential to produce coke oven coke for the steel and iron industry. In 2024, coke ovens in 12 EU countries consumed 36 million tonnes of coking coal to produce 27 million tonnes of coke oven coke. Coke oven activity was stable until 2018, after which it started to decline, reaching a new plateau from 2020 onwards, before declining again in 2023 and 2024 (see Figure 12).

No activity for coke ovens was recorded in EFTA countries. In candidate and potential candidate countries, 2 countries reported an activity for coke ovens in 2024, using 6 million tonnes of coking coal to produce 5 million tonnes of coke oven coke.

Source data for tables and graphs

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Data sources

The reporting of coal statistics is based on Energy statistics Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 on energy statistics. The production and consumption data of hard coal, brown coal and coke oven coke between 1990 and 2024 are based on annual statistics (Annex B of the Regulation). The data related to electricity production and the share of coal in it are based on data from the annual electricity and heat questionnaire. For the latest available 2025 data, preliminary annual data was used.

Methodological notes

The article highlights figures around hard coal (anthracite, coking coal and other bituminous coal), and brown coal (lignite and sub-bituminous coal). In energy statistics, 'coal' is defined as the sum of primary coal products (hard coal and brown coal), and secondary coal products (coke oven coke, patent fuel, coal tar, brown coal briquettes), and excluding manufactured gases and other solid fossil fuels (peat and peat products, oil shale and oil sands). However, in the context of this article, 'coal' is understood and summarised as 'primary coal products', excluding secondary coal products, manufactured gases and other solid fossil fuels. 'Solid fossil fuels', when it is mentioned, refers to the aggregate of primary and secondary coal products, peat and peat products, and oil shale and oil sands – it excludes manufactured gases.

Imports are reported following the principle of ultimate origin: when an energy product is imported, the importing country should be the country of origin (where the coal was extracted), and not the country of transit or of last consignment. As an example, a tonne of Other bituminous coal is imported from country A in 2019 by country B, then is put in country B’s stocks, and then is exported from country B to country C in 2024. If country C uses this tonne in electricity production, country C should report in their energy statistics this tonne of Other bituminous coal as imported from country A, even if it transited via country B, and even if the year of consumption is not the same as the year of import.

Footnotes

Data for the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) does not include Switzerland, as there is no agreement in place regarding the dissemination by Eurostat of Swiss energy statistics. ↑
Due to the implementation of martial law in Ukraine and following the adoption of Law of Ukraine No 2115-IX of March 3, 2022 about protection of interests of subjects of submission of the reporting and other documents during action of warlike situation or state of war, data for Ukraine is provisional for 2021 and unavailable from 2022 to 2025. ↑
'Western Balkan countries' or 'the Western Balkans' designate the aggregate of figures from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo (this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence). ↑
Imports are reported following the principle of ultimate origin. See methodological notes. ↑
See methodological notes on the definition of 'coal' in this context. ↑