Iron Ore Reserves by Country (Iron Content)

China more than halved its reported iron-content reserves in 2025 — the sharpest cut in this table. The figures come from eight editions of the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (2019-2026), covering iron ore reserves in million metric tons of iron content. Reserves represent estimated quantities that can be economically extracted under applicable conditions. All 17 countries have reported 2025 values, with listed reserves totaling 80,739 million metric tons.

Australia (27,000 million metric tons) leads Brazil (15,000) by 12,000 — a gap nearly as large as third-ranked Russia's entire 14,000. Mauritania debuts at 4,400, with India (3,400) and China (3,000) close behind. Beyond the listed ranking, USGS reports 6,000 million metric tons under Other countries. USGS reports a world total of 87,000 million metric tons (rounded).

Iron Ore Reserves by Country (Iron Content)

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#	Country	2025 (million metric tons)
1	Australia AU	27,000
2	Brazil BR	15,000
3	Russia RU	14,000
4	Mauritania MR	4,400
5	India IN	3,400
6	China CN	3,000
7	United States US	2,700
8	Canada CA	2,300
9	Ukraine UA	2,300
10	Iran IR	1500
11	Kazakhstan KZ	1500
12	Peru PE	1000
13	Chile CL	740
14	South Africa ZA	680
15	Sweden SE	600
16	Mexico MX	520
17	Türkiye TR	99

Mauritania's 4,400 debut is the largest of three newcomers.

China's reserve estimate falls 56.5%

China reported 6,900 million metric tons in every year from 2018 through 2024, then 3,000 for 2025 — a reduction of 3,900 (-56.5%) that dropped it from fourth to sixth place. The cut alone exceeds the combined reserves of Peru, Chile, South Africa, Sweden, Mexico and Türkiye.

The United States reaches 2,700 million tons

The United States reported 760 million metric tons in 2018 and 2,700 in 2025 — more than a three-and-a-half-fold rise, through 1,000, 1,300 and 2,300. Its 2025 addition of 400 (+17.4%) contrasts with Kazakhstan's jump from 900 to 1,500 (+66.7%) and Peru's fall from 1,500 to 1,000 (-33.3%). The three changes illustrate how smaller reserve holders moved in different directions in 2025.

Nine incumbents were unchanged in 2025

Russia, Canada, Ukraine, Iran and Sweden reported the same reserve figures throughout the 2018–2025 series: 14,000, 2,300, 2,300, 1,500 and 600, respectively. Brazil has held 15,000 since 2019 and Australia 27,000 since 2022. Three newcomers — Mauritania (4,400), Chile (740) and Mexico (520) — account for all three new country entries in the series. Nine of the fourteen countries already in the series were unchanged in 2025.

Iron Ore Reserves by Country (Iron Content)

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#	Country	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
1	Australia	24,000	23,000	24,000	25,000	27,000	27,000	27,000	27,000
2	Brazil	17,000	15,000	15,000	15,000	15,000	15,000	15,000	15,000
3	Russia	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000
4	Mauritania	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4,400
5	India	3,200	3,400	3,400	3,400	3,400	3,400	3,400	3,400
6	China	6,900	6,900	6,900	6,900	6,900	6,900	6,900	3,000
7	United States	760	1000	1000	1000	1000	1300	2,300	2,700
8	Canada	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300
9	Ukraine	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300	2,300
10	Iran	1500	1500	1500	1500	1500	1500	1500	1500
11	Kazakhstan	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	1500
12	Peru	-	-	1500	1500	1200	1200	1500	1000
13	Chile	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	740
14	South Africa	770	690	640	670	670	620	590	680
15	Sweden	600	600	600	600	600	600	600	600
16	Mexico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	520
17	Türkiye	-	-	-	38	38	99	99	99

Methodology

Figures come from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019-2026, with 2025 values estimated. Units are million metric tons of iron content, exactly as reported. This page measures iron content; crude ore is published as a separate series and the two are not interchangeable. Empty means the source reported no value; 0 means the source reports zero. The source’s world total, where published, may be rounded, approximate, a lower bound, or a textual estimate, so shares are computed against the sum of the listed countries. Reserves and production are different measures and should not be combined without equalizing units.