The worldwide value of coal exports expanded by an average 91% for all exporting countries since 2018 when overall coal shipments were valued at $124.6 billion.
From 2021 to 2022, the value of exported coal accelerated by 92.8% starting from $123.5 billion.
The 5 biggest exporters of coal are Australia, Indonesia, Russia, United States of America, and South Africa. Combined, those 5 countries shipped 85.5% of the total value of coal sold on international markets during 2022.
From a continental perspective, coal exported from Oceania (mostly Australia but also from New Zealand) amounted to $83.3 billion or 35.3% of worldwide coal sales. Asian exporters generated 24.7% worth of these international sales, trailed by European suppliers at 20.8% then North American suppliers at 11.9%.
Smaller percentages came from coal exporters in Africa (6.6%) and Latin America (0.7%) 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 2022.
- Australia: US$83.3 billion (35% of total coal exports)
- Indonesia: $46.7 billion (19.6%)
- Russia: $42.8 billion (18%)
- United States: $17.3 billion (7.3%)
- South Africa: $13 billion (5.5%)
- Canada: $10.8 billion (4.5%)
- Mongolia: $6.5 billion (2.7%)
- Netherlands: $2.2 billion (0.9%)
- Mozambique: $2 billion (0.9%)
- Poland: $1.6 billion (0.7%)
- Colombia: $1.3 billion (0.6%)
- China: $1.2 billion (0.5%)
- Kazakhstan: $946.5 million (0.4%)
- Philippines: $883.1 million (0.4%)
- Belgium: $763.6 million (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.3% of global coal exported in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing coal exporters were Belgium (up 167.9% from 2021), Netherlands (up 149.7%), mainland China (up 144.4%) and Russia (up 143.5%).
The sole top supplier that posted a decline in its exported coal sales was Colombia, pulled down by -69.6% reduction.
Countries Enjoying Highest Surpluses from International Coal Trade
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for coal during 2022. 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$83.3 billion (net export surplus up 89.6% since 2021)
- Indonesia: $43.1 billion (up 77.7%)
- Russia: $42.6 billion (up 148.1%)
- United States of America: $16.5 billion (up 78.6%)
- South Africa: $12.5 billion (up 120.3%)
- Canada: $9.8 billion (up 78.2%)
- Mongolia: $6.5 billion (up 135.6%)
- Mozambique: $2 billion (up 88.1%)
- Colombia: $1.3 billion (down -69.6%)
- Kazakhstan: $866.8 million (up 98.1%)
- Afghanistan: $400.8 million (up 259.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $358.8 million (reversing a -$420.9 million deficit)
- Tanzania: $160.4 million (up 1121.3%)
- Peru: $84 million (up 229.8%)
- Zimbabwe: $80 million (up 888.1%)
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 2022. 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.
- Japan: -US$59.7 billion (net export deficit up 133.7% since 2021)
- India: -$48.8 billion (up 90.6%)
- mainland China: -$29.1 billion (up 9.4%)
- South Korea: -$28.2 billion (up 93.8%)
- Taiwan: -$16.4 billion (up 95.2%)
- Germany: -$12.7 billion (up 145.5%)
- Türkiye: -$7.9 billion (up 94.1%)
- Malaysia: -$7 billion (up 74.6%)
- Brazil: -$5.5 billion (up 97%)
- Philippines: -$5.2 billion (up 125.2%)
- Vietnam: -$4.5 billion (up 22.1%)
- Italy: -$4.16 billion (up 200.6%)
- Poland: -$4.05 billion (up 517.5%)
- Chile: -$3 billion (up 77.4%)
- France: -$2.8 billion (up 160.4%)
Densely populated Japan, India and mainland China racked up the highest deficits in the international trade of coal, ahead of a handful of fellow Asian countries. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for coal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Major Coal Exporting Companies
Below are global coal-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of coal. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (Australia)
- Bumi Resources (Indonesia)
- China Kingho Group (China)
- DSM (Netherlands)
- Exxaro Resources (South Africa)
- Kompania Węglowa (Poland)
- Peabody Energy (United States)
- Pioneer Coal Limited (Canada)
- Siberian Coal Energy Company (Russia)
- SouthGobi Resources (Mongolia)
Searchable List of All Coal Exporting Countries in 2022
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column highlights the change in value of globally exported coal in 2022 compared to 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Coal (US$) | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | $83,303,667,000 | +89.6% |
| 2. | Indonesia | $46,739,252,000 | +76.2% |
| 3. | Russia | $42,818,451,000 | +143.5% |
| 4. | United States | $17,263,148,000 | +77% |
| 5. | South Africa | $13,035,077,000 | +114.4% |
| 6. | Canada | $10,784,224,000 | +77% |
| 7. | Mongolia | $6,513,506,000 | +135.7% |
| 8. | Netherlands | $2,184,765,000 | +149.7% |
| 9. | Mozambique | $2,035,076,000 | +88.6% |
| 10. | Poland | $1,601,528,000 | +93.4% |
| 11. | Colombia | $1,332,701,000 | -69.6% |
| 12. | China | $1,231,078,000 | +144.4% |
| 13. | Kazakhstan | $946,457,000 | +90.3% |
| 14. | Philippines | $883,113,000 | +48.1% |
| 15. | Belgium | $763,597,000 | +167.9% |
| 16. | United Arab Emirates | $511,199,000 | +148074% |
| 17. | Vietnam | $456,388,000 | +85.3% |
| 18. | Spain | $432,166,000 | +417.1% |
| 19. | Afghanistan | $406,531,000 | +264% |
| 20. | Czech Republic | $297,764,000 | +18% |
| 21. | Türkiye | $280,271,000 | +2074% |
| 22. | Germany | $279,492,000 | +117.4% |
| 23. | Ukraine | $216,939,000 | +26984% |
| 24. | United Kingdom | $216,727,000 | +29.1% |
| 25. | Peru | $196,116,000 | +220.8% |
| 26. | India | $181,316,000 | +84.6% |
| 27. | Tanzania | $160,360,000 | +1115% |
| 28. | Brazil | $88,258,000 | +31648% |
| 29. | Zimbabwe | $80,215,000 | +837.5% |
| 30. | Eswatini | $56,722,000 | +132.8% |
| 31. | Ireland | $53,386,000 | +30.7% |
| 32. | Botswana | $52,223,000 | +91.6% |
| 33. | France | $51,701,000 | -58.3% |
| 34. | Lithuania | $51,197,000 | +470.5% |
| 35. | Iran | $44,625,000 | +609.7% |
| 36. | Italy | $43,240,000 | +49.2% |
| 37. | Venezuela | $41,223,000 | -2% |
| 38. | Egypt | $40,033,000 | +147.1% |
| 39. | New Zealand | $39,283,000 | +282.3% |
| 40. | Thailand | $36,108,000 | +71% |
| 41. | Kyrgyzstan | $26,882,000 | +75.3% |
| 42. | Slovakia | $24,425,000 | +53% |
| 43. | Croatia | $24,271,000 | +190.1% |
| 44. | Namibia | $22,433,000 | +5293% |
| 45. | Saudi Arabia | $16,747,000 | 0% |
| 46. | Latvia | $16,254,000 | +847.8% |
| 47. | Bulgaria | $14,359,000 | +3845% |
| 48. | Nigeria | $14,054,000 | +231.6% |
| 49. | Malaysia | $12,651,000 | +17.4% |
| 50. | Tajikistan | $9,781,000 | +1511% |
| 51. | Zambia | $9,715,000 | -1.3% |
| 52. | Laos | $8,909,000 | -29.4% |
| 53. | Greece | $8,423,000 | +58.9% |
| 54. | Romania | $6,960,000 | +11697% |
| 55. | Denmark | $6,690,000 | -79.6% |
| 56. | Estonia | $4,248,000 | +424700% |
| 57. | Uzbekistan | $2,641,000 | +7038% |
| 58. | Japan | $1,899,000 | -7.4% |
| 59. | Serbia | $1,823,000 | +346.8% |
| 60. | Slovenia | $1,794,000 | +137% |
| 61. | Morocco | $1,443,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Kenya | $1,301,000 | +975.2% |
| 63. | Moldova | $728,000 | +147.6% |
| 64. | Taiwan | $695,000 | +1% |
| 65. | Portugal | $635,000 | +4436% |
| 66. | Belarus | $617,000 | 0% |
| 67. | North Macedonia | $561,000 | +405.4% |
| 68. | Bahrain | $383,000 | +181.6% |
| 69. | Hungary | $333,000 | +108.1% |
| 70. | South Korea | $258,000 | +18.9% |
| 71. | Ethiopia | $252,000 | 0% |
| 72. | Bangladesh | $189,000 | -58.2% |
| 73. | Algeria | $94,000 | 0% |
| 74. | Sweden | $77,000 | +220.8% |
| 75. | Montenegro | $68,000 | +1260% |
| 76. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $64,000 | -88.9% |
| 77. | Jordan | $53,000 | +20.5% |
| 78. | Singapore | $50,000 | -74.7% |
| 79. | Azerbaijan | $46,000 | -66.7% |
| 80. | Tunisia | $42,000 | 0% |
| 81. | Ecuador | $34,000 | 0% |
| 82. | Finland | $31,000 | -99.8% |
| 83. | Georgia | $22,000 | -94.7% |
| 84. | Lebanon | $19,000 | -96.5% |
| 85. | Luxembourg | $14,000 | -17.6% |
| 86. | Democratic Rep. Congo | $13,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Austria | $9,000 | +50% |
| 88. | Ghana | $7,000 | -86% |
| 89. | Uganda | $7,000 | -97% |
| 90. | Pakistan | $6,000 | 0% |
| 91. | St Maarten (Dutch) | $3,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Syria | $2,000 | +100% |
| 93. | Armenia | $2,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Djibouti | $1,000 | 0% |
A value of 0% in the right-most column means 2021 data was unavailable.
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 July 17, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 17, 2023
Wikipedia, Category: Coal companies by country. Accessed on July 17, 2023
Wikipedia, Coal. Accessed on July 17, 2023
