Mercury Production by Country
Mercury production by country measures how much mercury each country mines, expressed in tonnes. The figures refer to mine production of mercury, in line with the underlying sources. The statistics combine an Our World in Data series for the earlier years (2020-2024), built from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries and the BGS World Mineral Statistics, with 2024 and 2025 estimates taken directly from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026. The table below lists 9 countries with recorded production during the period. Individual 2025 estimates are available for 5 countries, which produced a combined 212 tonnes in 2025, slightly above the reported World total of 210 tonnes in the source. Peru keeps its 2024 value (30 tonnes) from the earlier series, as the source lists it without a value; Russia (32, 2023), Mexico (3, 2023), and the United States (0.04, 2023) retain their last available values.
Countries With the Largest Mercury Production in 2025
China produced the most mercury in 2025 with 200 tonnes. Kyrgyzstan ranked second with 5, followed by Tajikistan (4), Morocco (2), and Norway (1).
Mercury Production by Country
|
#
|
Country
|
Latest Data (tonnes)
|
Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
China
CN
|
200 | 2025 |
| 2 |
Russia
RU
|
32 | 2023 |
| 3 |
Peru
PE
|
30 | 2024 |
| 4 |
Kyrgyzstan
KG
|
5 | 2025 |
| 5 |
Tajikistan
TJ
|
4 | 2025 |
| 6 |
Mexico
MX
|
3 | 2023 |
| 7 |
Morocco
MA
|
2 | 2025 |
| 8 |
Norway
NO
|
1 | 2025 |
| 9 |
United States
US
|
0.04 | 2023 |
China alone accounted for about 95 percent of the World total in 2025, while the other individually reported producers together accounted for about 6 percent. China's output was about 40 times that of the second-largest producer. Every listed producer except China produced less than 6 tonnes in 2025.
Mercury Production Around the World
In Asia, China (200) is the dominant producer, ahead of Kyrgyzstan (5) and Tajikistan (4). In Europe, Norway (1) is the only listed producer. In Africa, Morocco (2) is the only listed producer. In the Americas, Peru (30, 2024) retains its last available value, while Mexico (3, 2023) and the United States (0.04, 2023) carry older figures.
Largest Changes in Mercury Production, 2024-2025
No listed country changed at all: China (200), Kyrgyzstan (5), Tajikistan (4), Morocco (2), and Norway (1) all held their levels. The World total fell from 212 to 210 tonnes (down 2, about 1 percent), a change within the source's rounding.
The 2024 figures in this release are revised from earlier values, most notably China (revised from 1,000 to 200 tonnes), Tajikistan (from 100 to 4), Norway (from 20 to 1), and Kyrgyzstan (from 6 to 5).
Mercury Production by Country
| # |
Country
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
2025
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
2,200 | 2000 | 1000 | 1000 | 200 | 200 |
| 2 |
|
178 | 120 | 100 | 100 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 |
|
50 | 50 | 33 | 32 | - | - |
| 4 |
|
40 | 39 | 10 | 3 | - | - |
| 5 |
|
30 | 30 | 30 | - | 30 | - |
| 6 |
|
20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 |
|
15 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 8 |
|
1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 |
|
0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 | - | - |
Methodology
The earlier figures come from Our World in Data, which compiles national mercury 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. The earlier series covers 2020-2024. The 2024 and 2025 figures are estimates from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 where available; countries not reported individually keep their latest available Our World in Data values from 2024 or earlier. Values refer to mine production of mercury, in tonnes, and 2025 figures are preliminary estimates from the source. The source lists the United States and Peru without reported values (NA), which is why only the earlier figures are used for them. The sum of individually reported country estimates does not equal the reported World total because the source applies rounding and other adjustments at the country and World levels. In the table, a zero reflects no production, while an empty cell means that no value was reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country produces the most mercury in 2025?
China produced the most mercury in 2025 with 200 tonnes, followed by Kyrgyzstan (5) and Tajikistan (4).
How many countries are included in the dataset?
The table lists 9 countries with recorded production during the period. Individual 2025 estimates are available for 5 of them; Peru keeps its 2024 value and Russia, Mexico, and the United States keep their last available values from 2023.
What does this indicator measure?
It measures mercury mine production, in tonnes, based on mined production as in the underlying sources.
Which country produces the least mercury among those with 2025 data?
Norway recorded the smallest 2025 output at 1 tonne.
Why were the 2024 figures revised so sharply for China?
The USGS revises prior-year estimates in each release; this release revises China down from 1,000 to 200 tonnes, Tajikistan from 100 to 4, and Norway from 20 to 1.
Data Disclaimer: Projected data (future years) are estimates based on mathematical models. Actual values may differ. Learn about our methodology →
Sources
-
https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/minerals
-
Updated: 25.08.2026https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mercury-statistics-and-information
Please log in to leave a comment.
Log in
(0) Comments