Energy
Visualizing 25 Years of Lithium Production, by Country
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Lithium Production by Country (1995-2021)
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Lithium is often dubbed as โwhite goldโ for electric vehicles.
The lightweight metal plays a key role in the cathodes of all types of lithium-ion batteries that power EVs. Accordingly, the recent rise in EV adoption has sent lithium production to new highs.
The above infographic charts more than 25 years of lithium production by country from 1995 to 2021, based on data from BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy.
The Largest Lithium Producers Over Time
In the 1990s, the U.S. was the largest producer of lithium, in stark contrast to the present.
In fact, the U.S. accounted for over one-third of global lithium production in 1995. From then onwards until 2010, Chile took over as the biggest producer with a production boom in the Salar de Atacama, one of the worldโs richest lithium brine deposits.
Global lithium production surpassed 100,000 tonnes for the first time in 2021, quadrupling from 2010. What’s more, roughly 90% of it came from just three countries.
Rank | Country | 2021 Production (tonnes) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | Australia ๐ฆ๐บ | 55,416 | 52% |
#2 | Chile ๐จ๐ฑ | 26,000 | 25% |
#3 | China ๐จ๐ณ | 14,000 | 13% |
#4 | Argentina ๐ฆ๐ท | 5,967 | 6% |
#5 | Brazil ๐ง๐ท | 1,500 | 1% |
#6 | Zimbabwe ๐ฟ๐ผ | 1,200 | 1% |
#7 | Portugal ๐ต๐น | 900 | 1% |
#8 | United States ๐บ๐ธ | 900 | 1% |
Rest of World ๐ | 102 | 0.1% | |
Total | 105,984 | 100% |
Australia alone produces 52% of the worldโs lithium. Unlike Chile, where lithium is extracted from brines, Australian lithium comes from hard-rock mines for the mineral spodumene.
China, the third-largest producer, has a strong foothold in the lithium supply chain. Alongside developing domestic mines, Chinese companies have acquired around $5.6 billion worth of lithium assets in countries like Chile, Canada, and Australia over the last decade. It also hosts 60% of the worldโs lithium refining capacity for batteries.
Batteries have been one of the primary drivers of the exponential increase in lithium production. But how much lithium do batteries use, and how much goes into other uses?
What is Lithium Used For?
While lithium is best known for its role in rechargeable batteriesโand rightly soโit has many other important uses.
Before EVs and lithium-ion batteries transformed the demand for lithium, the metal’s end-uses looked completely different as compared to today.
End-use | Lithium Consumption 2010 (%) | Lithium Consumption 2021 (%) |
---|---|---|
Batteries | 23% | 74% |
Ceramics and glass | 31% | 14% |
Lubricating greases | 10% | 3% |
Air treatment | 5% | 1% |
Continuous casting | 4% | 2% |
Other | 27% | 6% |
Total | 100% | 100% |
In 2010, ceramics and glass accounted for the largest share of lithium consumption at 31%. In ceramics and glassware, lithium carbonate increases strength and reduces thermal expansion, which is often essential for modern glass-ceramic cooktops.
Lithium is also used to make lubricant greases for the transport, steel, and aviation industries, along with other lesser-known uses.
The Future of Lithium Production
As the world produces more batteries and EVs, the demand for lithium is projected to reach 1.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2025 and over 3 million tonnes by 2030.
For context, the world produced 540,000 tonnes of LCE in 2021. Based on the above demand projections, production needs to triple by 2025 and increase nearly six-fold by 2030.
Although supply has been on an exponential growth trajectory, it can take anywhere from six to more than 15 years for new lithium projects to come online. As a result, the lithium market is projected to be in a deficit for the next few years.
Energy
Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
How much oil, coal, and natural gas do we extract each year? See the scale of annual fossil fuel production in perspective.

The Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
Fossil fuels have been our predominant source of energy for over a century, and the world still extracts and consumes a colossal amount of coal, oil, and gas every year.
This infographic visualizes the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021 using data from BPโs Statistical Review of World Energy.
The Facts on Fossil Fuels
In 2021, the world produced around 8 billion tonnes of coal, 4 billion tonnes of oil, and over 4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
Most of the coal is used to generate electricity for our homes and offices and has a key role in steel production. Similarly, natural gas is a large source of electricity and heat for industries and buildings. Oil is primarily used by the transportation sector, in addition to petrochemical manufacturing, heating, and other end uses.
Hereโs a full breakdown of coal, oil, and gas production by country in 2021.
Coal Production
If all the coal produced in 2021 were arranged in a cube, it would measure 2,141 meters (2.1km) on each sideโmore than 2.5 times the height of the worldโs tallest building.
China produced 50% or more than four billion tonnes of the worldโs coal in 2021. Itโs also the largest consumer of coal, accounting for 54% of coal consumption in 2021.
Rank | Country | 2021 Coal Production (million tonnes) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 4,126.0 | 50% |
#2 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 811.3 | 10% |
#3 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 614.0 | 8% |
#4 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 524.4 | 6% |
#5 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 478.6 | 6% |
#6 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 433.7 | 5% |
#7 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 234.5 | 3% |
#8 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 126.0 | 2% |
#9 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | 115.7 | 1% |
#10 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 107.6 | 1% |
๐ Other | 600.9 | 7% | |
Total | 8,172.6 | 100% |
India is both the second largest producer and consumer of coal. Meanwhile, Indonesia is the worldโs largest coal exporter, followed by Australia.
In the West, U.S. coal production was down 47% as compared to 2011 levels, and the descent is likely to continue with the clean energy transition.
Oil Production
In 2021, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia were the three largest crude oil producers, respectively.
Rank | Country | 2021 Oil Production (million tonnes) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 711.1 | 17% |
#2 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 536.4 | 13% |
#3 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 515.0 | 12% |
#4 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 267.1 | 6% |
#5 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 200.8 | 5% |
#6 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 198.9 | 5% |
#7 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 167.7 | 4% |
#8 | ๐ฆ๐ช UAE | 164.4 | 4% |
#9 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 156.8 | 4% |
#10 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | 131.1 | 3% |
๐ Other | 1172.0 | 28% | |
Total | 4221.4 | 100% |
OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, made up the largest share of production at 35% or 1.5 billion tonnes of oil.
U.S. oil production has seen significant growth since 2010. In 2021, the U.S. extracted 711 million tonnes of oil, more than double the 333 million tonnes produced in 2010.
Natural Gas Production
The world produced 4,036 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021. The above graphic converts that into an equivalent of seven billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to visualize it on the same scale as oil and gas.
Here are the top 10 producers of natural gas in 2021:
Rank | Country | 2021 Natural Gas Production (billion m3) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 934.2 | 23% |
#2 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 701.7 | 17% |
#3 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 256.7 | 6% |
#4 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 209.2 | 5% |
#5 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 177.0 | 4% |
#6 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 172.3 | 4% |
#7 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 147.2 | 4% |
#8 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 117.3 | 3% |
#9 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 114.3 | 3% |
#10 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | 100.8 | 2% |
๐ Other | 1106.3 | 27% | |
Total | 4,036.9 | 100% |
The U.S. was the largest producer, with Texas and Pennsylvania accounting for 47% of its gas production. The U.S. electric power and industrial sectors account for around one-third of domestic natural gas consumption.
Russia, the next-largest producer, was the biggest exporter of gas in 2021. It exported an estimated 210 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines to Europe and China. Around 80% of Russian natural gas comes from operations in the Arctic region.
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