Iron Ore (Crude Ore) Production by Country

Iron ore production by country measures how much iron ore each country produces, expressed in tonnes. The figures follow the definitions used in the underlying sources. The statistics are based on Our World in Data, which compiles them from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, the USGS Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities, and the BGS World Mineral Statistics. The table below lists 17 countries that record iron ore production in the period. 2024 data are available for all 17 countries, which produced a combined 2,439,000,000 tonnes in 2024.

Countries With the Largest Iron Ore Production in 2024

Australia produced the most iron ore in 2024 with 930,000,000 tonnes. Brazil ranked second with 440,000,000, followed by China (270,000,000) and India (270,000,000). Russia (91,000,000), Iran (90,000,000), South Africa (66,000,000), and Canada (54,000,000) complete the top eight.

Iron Ore (Crude Ore) Production by Country

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#	Country	Latest Data (tonnes)	Year
1	Australia AU	930,000,000	2024
2	Brazil BR	440,000,000	2024
3	China CN	270,000,000	2024
4	India IN	270,000,000	2024
5	Russia RU	91,000,000	2024
6	Iran IR	90,000,000	2024
7	South Africa ZA	66,000,000	2024
8	Canada CA	54,000,000	2024
9	United States US	48,000,000	2024
10	Ukraine UA	42,000,000	2024
11	Kazakhstan KZ	30,000,000	2024
12	Sweden SE	28,000,000	2024
13	Peru PE	21,000,000	2024
14	Chile CL	18,000,000	2024
15	Türkiye TR	18,000,000	2024
16	Mauritania MR	15,000,000	2024
17	Mexico MX	8,000,000	2024

Among the 17 countries with available 2024 data, Australia accounted for about 38 percent of their combined production, and Australia and Brazil together accounted for about 56 percent. Only Australia produced more than 400 million tonnes in 2024.

Iron Ore Production Around the World

In Oceania, Australia (930,000,000 tonnes) is the dominant producer. In Asia, China and India jointly lead with 270,000,000 tonnes each, followed by Kazakhstan (30,000,000) and Türkiye (18,000,000). In the Middle East, Iran produced 90,000,000 tonnes in 2024.

In the Americas, Brazil (440,000,000 tonnes) leads, ahead of Canada (54,000,000), the United States (48,000,000), Peru (21,000,000), and Chile (18,000,000). Mexico recorded 8,000,000 tonnes in 2024.

In Europe, Russia (91,000,000 tonnes) is the largest producer, followed by Ukraine (42,000,000) and Sweden (28,000,000). In Africa, South Africa (66,000,000 tonnes) leads, ahead of Mauritania (15,000,000).

Largest Changes in Iron Ore Production, 2020–2024

India recorded the largest increase between 2020 and 2024, rising from 204,000,000 to 270,000,000 tonnes (up 66,000,000). Brazil added 52,000,000, from 388,000,000 to 440,000,000, and Iran added 40,500,000, from 49,500,000 to 90,000,000. Australia rose from 912,000,000 to 930,000,000 (up 18,000,000).

China recorded the largest decline, falling from 360,000,000 tonnes in 2020 to 270,000,000 in 2024 (down 90,000,000). Ukraine fell from 78,800,000 to 42,000,000 (down 36,800,000), followed by Kazakhstan, from 62,900,000 to 30,000,000 (down 32,900,000).

Iron Ore (Crude Ore) Production by Country

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#	Country	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1	Australia	912,000,000	912,000,000	944,000,000	953,000,000	930,000,000
2	Brazil	388,000,000	431,000,000	435,000,000	445,000,000	440,000,000
3	China	360,000,000	394,000,000	272,000,000	278,000,000	270,000,000
4	India	204,000,000	273,000,000	251,000,000	278,000,000	270,000,000
5	Russia	100,000,000	96,000,000	84,200,000	90,900,000	91,000,000
6	Ukraine	78,800,000	83,800,000	34,100,000	41,700,000	42,000,000
7	Kazakhstan	62,900,000	64,100,000	53,600,000	28,900,000	30,000,000
8	Canada	60,100,000	57,500,000	69,000,000	59,400,000	54,000,000
9	South Africa	55,600,000	73,100,000	63,700,000	63,200,000	66,000,000
10	Iran	49,500,000	72,900,000	78,300,000	85,400,000	90,000,000
11	United States	38,100,000	47,500,000	39,000,000	44,700,000	48,000,000
12	Sweden	35,800,000	40,200,000	38,900,000	28,900,000	28,000,000
13	Chile	15,600,000	17,700,000	17,700,000	18,100,000	18,000,000
14	Türkiye	15,400,000	16,100,000	17,700,000	16,800,000	18,000,000
15	Mexico	14,900,000	10,800,000	10,800,000	8,500,000	8,000,000
16	Peru	13,300,000	18,100,000	19,300,000	20,900,000	21,000,000
17	Mauritania	-	12,800,000	12,700,000	14,100,000	15,000,000

Methodology

The statistics are based on Our World in Data, which compiles national iron ore production figures from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, the USGS Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities, and the BGS World Mineral Statistics, with major processing by Our World in Data; USGS data is prioritized, with BGS data used to supplement it. Values refer to mine production of iron ore, in tonnes, based on mined (crude ore) rather than refined production, and 2024 figures are preliminary estimates from the USGS. For China, the figures reflect the source's adjusted estimate of usable ore output. The main comparison uses 2024 data, which is available for all 17 countries. For Mauritania, the source data begin in 2021, so figures for earlier years are not shown. Countries with no iron ore production in any year of the period are excluded from the table. In the table, a zero reflects no production, while an empty cell means that no value was reported. According to Our World in Data, the sum of all countries may exceed the World total in certain years, by up to 10 percent, due to discrepancies between the underlying data sources.