World - Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)

Electricity production from coal sources (% of total) in World was 39.17 as of 2015. Its highest value over the past 44 years was 41.14 in 2007, while its lowest value was 30.33 in 1974.

Definition: Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Coal refers to all coal and brown coal, both primary (including hard coal and lignite-brown coal) and derived fuels (including patent fuel, coke oven coke, gas coke, coke oven gas, and blast furnace gas). Peat is also included in this category.

Source: IEA Statistics © OECD/IEA 2014 (http://www.iea.org/stats/index.asp), subject to https://www.iea.org/t&c/termsandconditions/

See also:

Year Value
1971 33.26
1972 31.73
1973 31.61
1974 30.33
1975 30.57
1976 31.42
1977 31.28
1978 30.57
1979 31.42
1980 32.97
1981 33.15
1982 33.78
1983 34.16
1984 33.90
1985 34.82
1986 34.61
1987 35.04
1988 34.76
1989 34.24
1990 37.01
1991 37.07
1992 37.41
1993 37.38
1994 37.53
1995 37.35
1996 37.96
1997 38.02
1998 37.82
1999 37.65
2000 38.64
2001 38.45
2002 38.75
2003 39.83
2004 39.38
2005 39.86
2006 40.51
2007 41.14
2008 40.63
2009 40.02
2010 40.11
2011 41.00
2012 40.28
2013 41.04
2014 40.49
2015 39.17

Development Relevance: Since the beginning of the 21st century, coal has been the fastest-growing global energy source; it currently provides about 40 percent of the world's electricity needs. Coal is the second source of primary energy in the world after oil, and the first source of electricity generation.. The last decade's growth in coal use has been driven by the economic growth of developing economies, mainly China. Irrespective of its economic benefits for the countries, the environmental impact of coal use, especially that coming from carbon dioxide emissions, is significant, and efforts are underway globally to build more efficient plants, to retrofit old plants and to decommission the oldest and least efficient coal plants. Use of energy is important in improving people's standard of living. But electricity generation also can damage the environment. Whether such damage occurs depends largely on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide - a major contributor to global warming - as does burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions result primarily from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing. In combustion different fossil fuels release different amounts of carbon dioxide for the same level of energy use: oil releases about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than natural gas, and coal releases about twice as much. Nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide emissions, but it produces other dangerous waste products.

Limitations and Exceptions: IEA occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. For example, the IEA has constructed historical energy statistics for countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition, energy statistics for other countries have undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are therefore unavoidable.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Electricity production is total number of kWh generated by power plants separated into electricity plants and CHP plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. IEA data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to annual questionnaires completed by OECD member governments. In addition, estimates are sometimes made to complete major aggregates from which key data are missing, and adjustments are made to compensate for differences in definitions. The IEA makes these estimates in consultation with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Electricity production shares may not sum to 100 percent because other sources of generated electricity (such as geothermal, solar, and wind) are not shown. Restricted use: Please contact the International Energy Agency for third-party use of these data.

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Energy production & use