Refined Selenium Production by Country

Refined selenium production by country shows how much refined selenium is produced in each country, measured in tonnes. The figures refer to refined selenium production (selenium metal from copper refineries), 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 covers 17 countries included in the underlying data during the period. USGS reports 2025 estimates for 16 countries, which produced a combined 3,845 tonnes in 2025, slightly above the reported World total of 3,800 tonnes in the source. Kazakhstan and Mexico appear with 2024-2025 data only, and Sweden retains its latest available value of 4 tonnes from 2023. The United States is listed in the source as withheld (W).

Largest Refined Selenium-Producing Countries in 2025

China produced the most refined selenium in 2025 with 2,000 tonnes. Japan ranked second with 640, followed by Russia (320), Belgium (200), Canada (130), India (90), Mexico (88), Serbia (71), Poland (67), and Kazakhstan (50).

Refined Selenium Production by Country

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#	Country	Latest Data (tonnes)	Year
1	China CN	2000	2025
2	Japan JP	640	2025
3	Russia RU	320	2025
4	Belgium BE	200	2025
5	Canada CA	130	2025
6	India IN	90	2025
7	Mexico MX	88	2025
8	Serbia RS	71	2025
9	Poland PL	67	2025
10	Kazakhstan KZ	50	2025
11	Peru PE	48	2025
12	Germany DE	47	2025
13	Türkiye TR	43	2025
14	Finland FI	39	2025
15	South Africa ZA	10	2025
16	Sweden SE	4	2023
17	Uzbekistan UZ	2	2025

China alone accounted for about 53 percent of the World total in 2025, and China and Japan together for about 69 percent; the top three countries accounted for about 78 percent. China's output was about 3.1 times that of Japan. Five countries produced at least 100 tonnes in 2025.

Refined Selenium Production Around the World

In Asia, China (2,000) leads, ahead of Japan (640), India (90), Kazakhstan (50), and Uzbekistan (2). In Europe, Russia (320) is the largest producer, ahead of Belgium (200), Serbia (71), Poland (67), Germany (47), Türkiye (43), and Finland (39).

In North America, Canada (130) is the largest producer, ahead of Mexico (88); the United States is listed in the source as withheld (W). In South America, Peru (48) is the only listed producer. In Africa, South Africa (10) is the only listed producer; Sweden (4, 2023) retains an older value.

Largest Changes in Refined Selenium Production, 2024-2025

China recorded the largest increase, rising from 1,800 tonnes in 2024 to 2,000 in 2025 (up 200, about 11 percent). Kazakhstan rose from 2 to 50 tonnes (up 48, 25 times its 2024 value), Mexico from 78 to 88 (up 10), Russia by 10, India by 2, Serbia by 2, and Finland by 1 tonne. Canada (130), Belgium (200), Türkiye (43), and Uzbekistan (2) held their levels.

The largest decline came from Japan, falling from 730 to 640 tonnes (down 90, about 12 percent). Peru fell from 53 to 48 (down 5, about 9 percent), Germany by 2, Poland by 1, and South Africa by 1 tonne.

The World total rose from 3,670 to 3,800 tonnes (up 130, about 3.5 percent).

Where the earlier series provided a 2024 value, the revisions are visible: India was revised up from 14 to 88 tonnes, Finland down from 170 to 38, Russia down from 340 to 310, Japan up from 710 to 730, Germany down from 50 to 49, Poland down from 74 to 68, and Türkiye down from 50 to 43.

Refined Selenium Production by Country

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#	Country	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
1	China	1200	1260	1290	1780	1800	2000
2	Japan	740	720	710	680	730	640
3	Russia	340	300	340	350	310	320
4	Germany	300	300	300	50	49	47
5	Belgium	200	200	200	200	200	200
6	Finland	84	80	130	122	38	39
7	Mexico	-	-	-	-	78	88
8	Poland	74	74	82	74	68	67
9	Canada	60	57	110	130	130	130
10	Türkiye	50	50	50	50	43	43
11	Peru	35	36	57	50	53	48
12	Serbia	-	-	-	24	69	71
13	India	14	14	14	14	88	90
14	Sweden	10	5	10	4	-	-
15	South Africa	-	-	-	9	11	10
16	Uzbekistan	-	-	-	2	2	2
17	Kazakhstan	-	-	-	-	2	50

Methodology

The earlier figures come from Our World in Data, which compiles national refined selenium production figures from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 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; Sweden retains its latest available value from 2023, and Kazakhstan and Mexico carry 2024-2025 values only. Values refer to refined selenium production, in tonnes, and 2025 figures are preliminary estimates from the source. The source lists the United States as withheld (W) to avoid disclosing company proprietary data, so no U.S. value is included in the table. 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.