Nigeria Ranks 20th Among World’s Biggest Mineral Fuel Producers
By Sabiu Abdullahi
Nigeria ranked 20th among the world’s largest mineral fuel-producing countries in 2024, with an estimated output of 114.8 million metric tonnes, according to data compiled by Visual Capitalist.
The figure represents 0.7 per cent of global mineral fuel production for the year.
The ranking, published by Visual Capitalist, was based on data from the Austrian Ministry of Finance and covered steam coal, coking coal, lignite, petroleum, oil shales, natural gas and uranium.
The measurement focused on the physical quantity of mineral fuels produced rather than their monetary value or energy content. As a result, countries with large coal production gained an advantage over nations whose output is dominated by higher-value and more energy-dense fuels such as crude oil and natural gas.
China topped the global ranking with 4.81 billion metric tonnes, which accounted for 28.6 per cent of total world production.
The United States came second with 2.28 billion metric tonnes, equivalent to 13.5 per cent of global output, while Russia occupied the third position with 1.46 billion metric tonnes or 8.7 per cent.
India ranked fourth with 1.14 billion metric tonnes, while Indonesia completed the top five with 921.4 million metric tonnes.
The five leading producers collectively accounted for 63.1 per cent of global mineral fuel production in 2024.
China’s production was dominated by steam and coking coal, while petroleum and natural gas formed a much larger portion of the output from the United States and Russia.
India also recorded a substantial coal output, with steam coal accounting for the largest share of its mineral fuel production. Indonesia’s output was similarly dominated by steam coal.
Nigeria’s 114.8 million metric tonnes placed it behind Mexico, which recorded 119.2 million metric tonnes, but ahead of Colombia, Mongolia, Germany, Poland and Malaysia.
Among other major African producers, South Africa ranked 10th with 234 million metric tonnes, while Algeria occupied the 18th position with 146.8 million metric tonnes.
The data also showed that Asia-Pacific remained the largest regional producer of mineral fuels in 2024. The region produced 8.36 billion metric tonnes, representing 49.7 per cent of the world’s total output.
North America followed with 2.91 billion metric tonnes, or 17.3 per cent. The Middle East and Europe accounted for 12.9 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively.
The report noted that the use of weight as the basis for the ranking significantly affected the positions of major oil-producing countries. Saudi Arabia, for instance, ranked seventh in overall mineral fuel production with 594.2 million metric tonnes despite its position as one of the world’s leading crude oil producers.
The ranking indicates that countries with large coal industries can record higher positions than some major oil and gas producers when mineral fuel output is measured by physical weight.
Beyond the 25 largest producers, the report noted that production levels declined sharply, with Germany, Poland and Malaysia each contributing less than one per cent of global mineral fuel output.