The worldwide value of coal exports accelerated by an average 93.9% for all exporting countries since 2020 when overall coal shipments were valued at $82.6 billion.
From 2023 to 2024, the value of exported coal shrank by -15.9% starting from $190.3 billion.
The 5 biggest exporters of coal are Australia, Indonesia, Russia, United States of America, and Mongolia. Collectively, those 5 countries shipped 81.7% of the total value of coal sold on international markets during 2024.
From a continental perspective, coal exported from Oceania (mostly Australia and New Zealand) amounted to $55.9 billion or 35% of worldwide coal sales. Exporters located in Asia generated 26.8% worth of these international fossil fuel sales, trailed by suppliers in Europe at 15.6% then suppliers from North America at 13.3%.
Smaller percentages came from coal exporters in Africa (5.3%) and Latin America (3.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2701 for coal. Those digits encompass briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal.
Coal Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2024.
- Australia: US$55.9 billion (34.9% of total coal exports)
- Indonesia: $30.5 billion (19%)
- Russia: $21.8 billion (13.6%)
- United States: $14.2 billion (8.9%)
- Mongolia: $8.5 billion (5.3%)
- Canada: $7.1 billion (4.4%)
- South Africa: $6.3 billion (3.9%)
- Colombia: $6 billion (3.8%)
- Mozambique: $1.7 billion (1.1%)
- mainland China: $1.3 billion (0.8%)
- Netherlands: $914.3 million (0.6%)
- Poland: $901 million (0.6%)
- Kazakhstan: $603 million (0.4%)
- Philippines: $515.5 million (0.3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $496 million (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.9% of globally exported coal in 2024.
Among the top exporters, there were two coal exporters growing from 2023 to 2024 namely: United Arab Emirates (up 3,313%) and mainland China (up 10.9%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported coal sales were led by: Russia (down -31.2% from 2023), Netherlands (down -27.8%), Colombia (down -25.3%), Poland (down -24.7%) and Canada (down -21.6%).
Searchable List of All Coal Exporting Countries in 2024
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column highlights the change in value of globally exported coal in 2024 compared to 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Coal Exports (US$) | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | $55,862,411,000 | -13.1% |
| 2. | Indonesia | $30,489,507,000 | -11.9% |
| 3. | Russia | $21,779,671,000 | -31.2% |
| 4. | United States | $14,215,235,000 | -7.7% |
| 5. | Mongolia | $8,534,943,000 | -2.6% |
| 6. | Canada | $7,061,075,000 | -21.6% |
| 7. | South Africa | $6,294,296,000 | -20% |
| 8. | Colombia | $6,013,066,000 | -25.3% |
| 9. | Mozambique | $1,749,857,000 | -0.6% |
| 10. | mainland China | $1,273,080,000 | +10.9% |
| 11. | Netherlands | $914,286,000 | -27.8% |
| 12. | Poland | $901,041,000 | -24.7% |
| 13. | Kazakhstan | $602,983,000 | -14.8% |
| 14. | Philippines | $515,549,000 | -16.1% |
| 15. | United Arab Emirates | $495,969,000 | +3313% |
| 16. | Czech Republic | $284,332,000 | +33% |
| 17. | United Kingdom | $245,782,000 | +20.2% |
| 18. | Vietnam | $244,252,000 | +6.2% |
| 19. | Belgium | $242,966,000 | -30.6% |
| 20. | India | $234,135,000 | +20.4% |
| 21. | Germany | $201,295,000 | -22.1% |
| 22. | Peru | $190,494,000 | -17.3% |
| 23. | Tanzania | $153,837,000 | -15% |
| 24. | Spain | $139,485,000 | -81.8% |
| 25. | Kyrgyzstan | $137,758,000 | +170.8% |
| 26. | Afghanistan | $88,798,000 | -59.7% |
| 27. | Eswatini | $76,933,000 | +2.1% |
| 28. | Venezuela | $72,308,000 | -8.9% |
| 29. | France | $50,371,000 | -2.6% |
| 30. | Türkiye | $44,741,000 | -36.9% |
| 31. | Ukraine | $36,366,000 | -78.9% |
| 32. | Botswana | $31,223,000 | -8.7% |
| 33. | Ireland | $29,252,000 | -28.1% |
| 34. | Tajikistan | $28,680,000 | +513.6% |
| 35. | Italy | $24,260,000 | -58.4% |
| 36. | Zimbabwe | $23,019,000 | +4.4% |
| 37. | Malaysia | $22,814,000 | +35.3% |
| 38. | Slovakia | $22,462,000 | +85.8% |
| 39. | New Zealand | $18,306,000 | -49.9% |
| 40. | Zambia | $17,802,000 | +21.8% |
| 41. | Laos | $16,041,000 | -90.5% |
| 42. | Namibia | $15,562,000 | +50.9% |
| 43. | Lithuania | $14,422,000 | -16.1% |
| 44. | Nigeria | $13,251,000 | +7.9% |
| 45. | Albania | $11,673,000 | 0% |
| 46. | Bulgaria | $11,242,000 | +88.1% |
| 47. | Thailand | $11,197,000 | -18% |
| 48. | Egypt | $7,661,000 | -76.7% |
| 49. | Croatia | $7,117,000 | +17693% |
| 50. | Denmark | $6,861,000 | -72.9% |
| 51. | Bahamas | $5,388,000 | 0% |
| 52. | Iran | $4,550,000 | -84.8% |
| 53. | Oman | $4,278,000 | +213800% |
| 54. | Romania | $3,894,000 | +14.3% |
| 55. | Morocco | $2,533,000 | +10913% |
| 56. | Uzbekistan | $2,434,000 | +204.3% |
| 57. | Latvia | $2,254,000 | -77.2% |
| 58. | Mexico | $1,616,000 | 0% |
| 59. | Austria | $1,596,000 | +31820% |
| 60. | Japan | $1,274,000 | -20.1% |
| 61. | Slovenia | $1,019,000 | -97.5% |
| 62. | Taiwan | $598,000 | -15.1% |
| 63. | Bahrain | $552,000 | +2529% |
| 64. | Kenya | $407,000 | -37.5% |
| 65. | Saudi Arabia | $277,000 | -62.4% |
| 66. | Serbia | $234,000 | -71.4% |
| 67. | Brazil | $230,000 | -26.5% |
| 68. | South Korea | $216,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Singapore | $198,000 | +214.3% |
| 70. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $181,000 | -68.5% |
| 71. | Qatar | $170,000 | +347.4% |
| 72. | Switzerland | $160,000 | +44.1% |
| 73. | Portugal | $142,000 | +1929% |
| 74. | Dominican Republic | $104,000 | +3367% |
| 75. | Greece | $61,000 | -92.6% |
| 76. | Vanuatu | $53,000 | 0% |
| 77. | Ecuador | $50,000 | +16.3% |
| 78. | Tunisia | $43,000 | +207.1% |
| 79. | Belarus | $37,000 | -71.1% |
| 80. | Hungary | $25,000 | -81.1% |
| 81. | Georgia | $18,000 | 0% |
| 82. | Armenia | $13,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Chile | $13,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Luxembourg | $12,000 | -20% |
| 85. | St Vincent/Grenadines | $12,000 | +1100% |
| 86. | Sweden | $9,000 | -99.3% |
| 87. | Israel | $7,000 | 0% |
| 88. | Jordan | $5,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Estonia | $4,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Aruba | $4,000 | 0% |
| 91. | Guatemala | $3,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Ethiopia | $2,000 | -99.8% |
| 93. | Democratic Republic Congo | $2,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Ivory Coast | $1,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Pakistan | $1,000 | -83.3% |
| 96. | Syria | $1,000 | 0% |
A value of 0% in the right-most column means that 2023 data was unavailable.
Countries Enjoying Highest Surpluses from International Coal Trade
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for coal during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported coal and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$55.8 billion (net export surplus down -13% since 2023)
- Indonesia: $26.9 billion (down -13.8%)
- Russia: $21.6 billion (down -31.4%)
- United States of America: $13.8 billion (down -6.5%)
- Mongolia: $8.5 billion (down -2.6%)
- Canada: $6.3 billion (down -20.9%)
- Colombia: $6 billion (down -25.3%)
- South Africa: $5.9 billion (down -19.5%)
- Mozambique: $1.7 billion (down -0.5%)
- Kazakhstan: $456.9 million (down -25.3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $225.5 million (reversing a -$398.6 million deficit)
- Peru: $156.1 million (down -11.9%)
- Tanzania: $153.8 million (down -15%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $107.3 million (up 3841.1%)
- Afghanistan: $88.8 million (down -59.6%)
World leader Australia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of coal. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Australia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Deficits from International Coal Trade
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for coal during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported coal purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- mainland China: -US$39.3 billion (net export deficit down -2.4% since 2023)
- India: -$31.8 billion (down -13.9%)
- Japan: -$29.9 billion (down -28.5%)
- South Korea: -$16.4 billion (down -18.3%)
- Taiwan: -$9.3 billion (down -20.6%)
- Türkiye: -$5 billion (down -9.1%)
- Germany: -$4.9 billion (down -28.3%)
- Vietnam: -$4.8 billion (down -29.1%)
- Malaysia: -$4.5 billion (down -13.8%)
- Brazil: -$3.1 billion (down -22.4%)
- Philippines: -$2.8 billion (down -20.1%)
- Thailand: -$1.6 billion (down -5.5%)
- France: -$1.15 billion (down -35.2%)
- Bangladesh: -$1.13 billion (down -4.7%)
- Italy: -$834.9 million (down -57.6%)
Densely populated Japan, mainland China and India racked up the highest deficits in the international trade of coal, ahead of a handful of fellow Asian countries. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight those traders’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for coal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Major Coal Exporting Companies
Below are global coal-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of coal. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (Australia)
- Bumi Resources (Indonesia)
- China Kingho Group (China)
- DSM (Netherlands)
- Exxaro Resources (South Africa)
- Kompania Węglowa (Poland)
- Peabody Energy (United States)
- Pioneer Coal Limited (Canada)
- Siberian Coal Energy Company (Russia)
- SouthGobi Resources (Mongolia)
See also Average Coal Prices Compared for Top Coal Exporters by Country, Coal Imports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country, Petroleum Gas Exports by Country and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 19, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Category: Coal companies by country. Accessed on May 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Coal. Accessed on May 19, 2025