Metallurgical Coal Imports by Country

Metallurgical coal imports by country measure the amount of metallurgical coal imported in each country, measured in million metric tons (Mmt) per year. Metallurgical (coking) coal is not burned for power — it is baked into coke for blast furnaces to make steel. Its trade follows steel, not electricity. The statistics are based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Statistics. The table covers 74 countries with a reported 2024 value and includes data from 2019 to 2024. The world total stood at 328.5 Mmt in 2024, up from 318.7 Mmt in 2023.

The map highlights where metallurgical coal imports are most concentrated in 2024; the table below holds the full 2019-2024 series. This is not just a ranking — the paragraphs below explain what the numbers reveal that the table alone does not.

Metallurgical Coal Imports by Country

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#	Country	2024 (Mmt)
1	China CN	122.25
2	India IN	52.86
3	Japan JP	37.87
4	South Korea KR	24.96
5	Indonesia ID	12.96
6	Germany DE	11.19
7	Brazil BR	10.04
8	Netherlands NL	9.06
9	Vietnam VN	7.52
10	Taiwan TW	5.97
11	Türkiye TR	5.48
12	France FR	2.68
13	Canada CA	2.65
14	Slovakia SK	2.32
15	Malaysia MY	2.11
16	Poland PL	1.91
17	Czech Republic CZ	1.86
18	Italy IT	1.73
19	Austria AT	1.69
20	Belgium BE	1.64
21	Spain ES	1.59
22	Sweden SE	1.44
23	Ukraine UA	1.2
24	Finland FI	1.17
25	Argentina AR	0.84
26	Russia RU	0.73
27	Bosnia and Herzegovina BA	0.69
28	United States US	0.64
29	South Africa ZA	0.38
30	Chile CL	0.28
31	United Arab Emirates AE	0.27
32	United Kingdom GB	0.19
33	Hungary HU	0.1
34	Egypt EG	0.07
35	Mexico MX	0.05
36	Iran IR	0.03
37	Australia AU	0.02
38	Morocco MA	0.02
39	Romania RO	0
40	Ireland IE	0
41	Armenia AM	0
42	Afghanistan AF	0
43	Algeria DZ	0
44	Aruba AW	0
45	Barbados BB	0
46	Belize BZ	0
47	Bermuda BM	0
48	Bhutan BT	0
49	Bulgaria BG	0
50	Burundi BI	0
51	Cook Islands CK	0
52	Cyprus CY	0
53	Denmark DK	0
54	Djibouti DJ	0
55	Faroe Islands FO	0
56	Fiji FJ	0
57	Greece GR	0
58	Greenland GL	0
59	Grenada GD	0
60	Guatemala GT	0
61	Guinea-Bissau GW	0
62	Kazakhstan KZ	0
63	Latvia LV	0
64	Lebanon LB	0
65	Lesotho LS	0
66	Lithuania LT	0
67	Luxembourg LU	0
68	New Caledonia NC	0
69	Pakistan PK	0
70	Papua New Guinea PG	0
71	Portugal PT	0
72	Puerto Rico PR	0
73	Serbia RS	0
74	Seychelles SC	0

Analysis: China alone accounted for about 37 percent of the world total in 2024, and China and India together for about 53 percent. The top three accounted for about 65 percent, the top five for about 76 percent, and the top ten for about 90 percent. China's metallurgical coal was about 2.3 times that of India, the second-largest importer — a gap that explains much of the global structure.

Who Leads Metallurgical Coal Imports?

Data: China (122.3 Mmt) was the largest importer in 2024, ahead of India (52.856 Mmt). The next largest were Japan (37.874 Mmt), South Korea (24.962 Mmt), Indonesia (12.962 Mmt), Germany (11.191 Mmt), Brazil (10.041 Mmt). Analysis: The top five alone — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia — already make up about 76 percent of world total, while the remaining 69 countries together account for less than 24 percent. Context: This concentration means that shifts in just a few countries drive the world total.

Where Metallurgical Coal Is Concentrated

Analysis: The top ten held about 90 percent of the world total in 2024, leaving less than 10 percent for the other 64 countries. In Asia, China dominates; in Europe, Germany and the Netherlands are among the larger importers; in North America, the United States is a major importer where reported. Context: Metallurgical (coking) coal is not burned for power — it is baked into coke for blast furnaces to make steel. Its trade follows steel, not electricity.

What Changed Most Recently? (2023-2024)

Analysis: China saw the largest increase, rising from 101.8 to 122.3 Mmt (up 20.436 Mmt, about 20.1 percent). Indonesia (+3.45 Mmt) and Vietnam (+1.268 Mmt) also rose. The sharpest decline was Ukraine (4.297 to 1.2 Mmt, down 3.097 Mmt). Overall the world total rose by 9.752 Mmt (+3.1 percent) to 328.5 Mmt. Context: Year-to-year moves like these show whether growth is broad-based or driven by a single country.

How Has Metallurgical Coal Evolved Since 2019?

Analysis: The world total moved from 304.8 Mmt in 2019 to 328.5 Mmt in 2024, with a low of 284.0 Mmt in 2022. For perspective, China went from 74.561 to 122.3 Mmt, while India went from 57.235 to 52.856 Mmt. Context: Comparing 2019-2024 reveals whether leaders are extending their lead or losing share — here, the top-ranked country substantially increased its imports while India declined.

Metallurgical Coal in Context

Context: Metallurgical (coking) coal is not burned for power — it is baked into coke for blast furnaces to make steel. Its trade follows steel, not electricity. Unlike the table which shows “how much,” this section explains “why it matters”: concentration at this level means supply, trade and energy security are tied to a handful of economies. The EIA reports metallurgical coal separately from other coal types precisely because its uses and markets differ.

Metallurgical Coal Imports by Country

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#	Country	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1	China	74.56	72.56	54.7	63.84	101.82	122.25
2	India	57.24	57.68	59.2	56.39	55.92	52.86
3	Japan	43.06	39.71	42.91	42.77	39.16	37.87
4	South Korea	22.62	21.23	21.51	22.27	25.39	24.96
5	Indonesia	5.38	5.63	10.07	7.77	9.51	12.96
6	Germany	11.25	9.82	11.78	11.58	11.5	11.19
7	Brazil	10.18	9.21	10.57	10.01	9.52	10.04
8	Netherlands	9.37	7.93	8.88	8.6	8	9.06
9	Vietnam	7.1	7.89	4.66	4.51	6.25	7.52
10	Taiwan	7.17	6.57	7.14	6.86	5.9	5.97
11	Türkiye	5.57	5.47	5.32	5.21	4.53	5.48
12	France	4.54	3.14	2.18	2.23	3.04	2.68
13	Canada	3.84	3.43	3.19	2.79	3.45	2.65
14	Slovakia	2.53	2.11	2.94	2.64	2.43	2.32
15	Malaysia	2.17	3.09	2.28	2.58	3.06	2.11
16	Poland	3.44	1.77	3.22	3.01	2.17	1.91
17	Czech Republic	2.1	1.93	2.17	2.45	2.16	1.86
18	Italy	2.86	1.86	1.36	2.85	2.38	1.73
19	Austria	1.29	0.97	0.91	1.97	1.81	1.69
20	Belgium	1.57	1.68	1.51	1.8	1.78	1.64
21	Spain	0.78	0.36	0.58	1.73	2.01	1.59
22	Sweden	1.53	1.4	1.34	1.26	1.38	1.44
23	Ukraine	11.81	11.09	11.48	4.71	4.3	1.2
24	Finland	1.1	1.04	1.06	1.29	1.15	1.17
25	Argentina	0.72	0.79	0.98	1.15	1.13	0.84
26	Russia	0.71	0.59	1.07	0.65	0.78	0.73
27	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.41	1.12	1.35	1.09	1.01	0.69
28	United States	0.67	0.3	0.76	1.45	0.65	0.64
29	South Africa	0.97	1.3	1.67	1.32	0.59	0.38
30	Chile	0.54	0.51	0.64	0.59	0.5	0.28
31	United Arab Emirates	1.49	2.31	2.15	2.55	2.69	0.27
32	United Kingdom	2.18	2.06	2.11	1.74	1.34	0.19
33	Hungary	1.27	1.16	1.05	0.68	0.32	0.1
34	Egypt	0.55	0.07	0.36	0.36	0.11	0.07
35	Mexico	0.56	0.49	0.56	0.99	0.66	0.05
36	Iran	0.1	0.04	0.04	0.04	0.13	0.03
37	Australia	0	0	0	0.06	0.11	0.02
38	Morocco	0.26	0.48	0.42	0.14	0.05	0.02
39	Romania	0	0	0	0	0.01	0
40	Ireland	0	0	0	0.01	0	0
41	Armenia	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	Afghanistan	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	Algeria	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.02	0	0
44	Aruba	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	Barbados	0	0	0	0	0	0
46	Belize	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	Bermuda	0	0	0	0	0	0
48	Bhutan	0	0	0	0	0	0
49	Bulgaria	0.01	0.04	0.04	0.02	0.04	0
50	Burundi	0	0	0	0	0	0
51	Cook Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	Cyprus	0	0	0	0	0	0
53	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0
54	Djibouti	0	0	0	0	0	0
55	Faroe Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0
56	Fiji	0	0	0	0	0	0
57	Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0
58	Greenland	0	0	0	0	0	0
59	Grenada	0	0	0	0	0	0
60	Guatemala	0.15	0.13	0.08	0.06	0	0
61	Guinea-Bissau	0	0	0	0	0	0
62	Kazakhstan	0	0	0	0	0	0
63	Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0
64	Lebanon	0	0	0	0	0	0
65	Lesotho	0	0	0	0	0	0
66	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0
67	Luxembourg	0	0	0	0	0	0
68	New Caledonia	0	0	0	0	0	0
69	Pakistan	0.09	0.07	0.07	0.03	0.03	0
70	Papua New Guinea	0	0	0	0	0	0
71	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0
72	Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0
73	Serbia	0.03	0	0	0	0	0
74	Seychelles	0	0	0	0	0	0

Methodology

The statistics are based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Statistics. Values represent annual metallurgical coal imports in million metric tons (Mmt). Where no value is available, the cell is left empty. A value of 0 indicates that the source reports zero. The sum of individually listed countries may differ slightly from the reported world total due to rounding. This page covers metallurgical coal imports only and does not include other coal types, which are reported separately in the source.