Ember · Coal Share of Electricity Generation
Coal power by country
What share of electricity comes from coal?
Of the 164 countries compared in 2024, 106 countries shared the lowest reading, 0.00%, and Botswana had the highest reading, 98.25%. In the middle country the figure was 0.00%.
Share
Coal power · 2024
Context statistic
106 countries share the lowest value, 0.00% — no single country is named first.
012024 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 164 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
Lowest in 2024 · shared
106 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00%
No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.
Aruba
Angola
Albania
Armenia
American Samoa
Antigua and Barbuda
Austria
Azerbaijan
Burundi
Belgium
Benin
Burkina Faso
Bahrain
Bahamas
Belize
Bolivia
Barbados
Bhutan
Côte d’Ivoire
Cameroon
DR Congo
Republic of the Congo
Cook Islands
Cabo Verde
Costa Rica
Cuba
Cayman Islands
Cyprus
Djibouti
Algeria
Ecuador
Eritrea
Estonia
Fiji
Gabon
Georgia
Ghana
Guinea
Gambia
Guinea-Bissau- and 66 more — every one is in the list below
Highest in 2024
Botswana98.25%
Mongolia84.69%
Philippines63.91%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Coal power on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 12.58–98.25%
- 0.00–10.80%
- No reading in 2024 (9 measured in an earlier edition)
- Africa
0.00%
the middle country, of 46 measured · 55 members
36 share 0.00%
Botswana98.25%Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Americas
0.00%
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
27 share 0.00%
Dominican Republic29.96%Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
0.00%
the middle country, of 37 measured · 52 members
19 share 0.00%
Mongolia84.69%Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
0.00%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members
11 share 0.00%
New Caledonia36.54%Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Europe
1.01%
the middle country, of 33 measured · 49 members
13 share 0.00%
Serbia62.93%Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Caribbean
0.00%
the middle country, of 17 measured · 24 members
15 share 0.00%
Dominican Republic29.96%Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Eastern Africa
0.00%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 19 members
11 share 0.00%
Zimbabwe42.89%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Middle Africa
0.00%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
7 share 0.00%
7 share 0.00%
Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Europe
0.00%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
6 share 0.00%
Denmark4.97%Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Polynesia
0.00%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
5 share 0.00%
5 share 0.00%
Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
- South America
0.00%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 12 members
8 share 0.00%
Chile15.30%Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Western Africa
0.00%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
14 share 0.00%
Niger17.90%Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Western Asia
0.00%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 19 members
14 share 0.00%
Türkiye35.55%Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Western Europe
0.00%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
3 share 0.00%
Netherlands6.11%Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Central America
0.24%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
3 share 0.00%
Guatemala15.83%Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- Southern Asia
1.52%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
3 share 0.00%
Bangladesh19.94%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Southern Europe
5.24%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 17 members
3 share 0.00%
Serbia62.93%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
10.76%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 10 members
Moldova0.00%
Poland54.33%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- South-eastern Asia
21.53%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 11 members
Singapore0.96%Philippines63.91%Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Eastern Asia
34.06%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Macau0.00%Mongolia84.69%Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: New Zealand.
New Zealand2.73%Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Turkmenistan0.00%
Kyrgyzstan9.70%Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
3 share 0.00%
New Caledonia36.54%Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Guam, Kiribati, Nauru.
3 share 0.00%
3 share 0.00%
Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern Africa
4 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia.
4 share 0.00%
4 share 0.00%
Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Greenland, United States.
Greenland0.00%
United States14.85%Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- Southern Africa
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia.
Namibia2.44%Botswana98.25%Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
164 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.00%; a quarter are above 5.04%, and a quarter below 0.00%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 173 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Most countries read zero, and zero does not mean clean: many small islands burn oil or diesel instead, which this share does not count. Read it beside the fossil-fuel column, which covers every fossil fuel.
Showing 25 of 173 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2024 · 25 editions
Over time
Each point is one year from 2000. Coal plants run for decades, so most lines move slowly; a steep fall usually means large plants closing or a new source — gas, hydro, nuclear, wind or solar — taking their place.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 161 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 164 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 5.04% | 0.00% |
| 2023 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.83% | 0.00% |
| 2022 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 6.05% | 0.00% |
| 2021 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 5.72% | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.83% | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 7.55% | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 7.06% | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 6.57% | 0.00% |
| 2016 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 6.07% | 0.00% |
| 2015 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.78% | 0.00% |
| 2014 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.17% | 0.00% |
| 2013 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.58% | 0.00% |
| 2012 | 173 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.86% | 0.00% |
| 2011 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.10% | 0.00% |
| 2010 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.10% | 0.00% |
| 2009 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.41% | 0.00% |
| 2008 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 5.43% | 0.00% |
| 2007 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.73% | 0.00% |
| 2006 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 5.39% | 0.00% |
| 2005 | 172 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 4.71% | 0.00% |
| 2004 | 171 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 3.78% | 0.00% |
| 2003 | 171 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 3.95% | 0.00% |
| 2002 | 170 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 3.68% | 0.00% |
| 2001 | 170 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 1.48% | 0.00% |
| 2000 | 170 | 0.00% | 0.00% – 1.42% | 0.00% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → afterWorsened most
before → after- Bangladesh10.61% → 19.94%+9.33
Mauritius33.64% → 39.30%+5.66
Cambodia57.50% → 60.92%+3.42- Serbia59.85% → 62.93%+3.08
Colombia10.91% → 12.58%+1.67
164 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 172 to 164 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Coal power in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
100.00%
Coal (% of electricity generated)
Lowest reading on record
Reached 2872 times by 132 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0.00%
Coal (% of electricity generated)
Biggest improvement between editions
−21.70
57.01% → 35.31%
Biggest decline between editions
+26.41
31.09% → 57.50%
Most improved since first measured
−59.08
64.81% → 5.73%
08The measure
About coal power
This is the share of a country’s electricity generation that came from coal. Coal is the most carbon- and pollution-intensive way to make electricity, so this share is the plainest measure of how far a power system still depends on it.
What the number is: Coal (% of electricity generated).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Environment & Sustainability and Energy, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Environment & SustainabilityEnergyWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where coal power is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Operating Coal Power CapacityGlobal Energy Monitor · 81 countries in commonρ 0.80
- Solar Electricity Installed CapacityEIA · 164 countries in commonρ 0.44
- Liner Shipping Connectivity IndexKeyUNCTAD · 125 countries in commonρ 0.43
Moves against
Where coal power is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Commodity Export DependenceUNCTAD · 151 countries in commonρ −0.40
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 353 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
More from Ember
- Carbon Intensity of Electricity
- Gas Share of Electricity Generation
- Hydro Share of Electricity Generation
- Low-Carbon Share of Electricity Generation
- Net Electricity Imports (share of generation)
- Nuclear Share of Electricity Generation
- Renewable Share of Electricity Generation
- Solar Share of Electricity Generation
- All statistics
11Questions
Coal power: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest coal power?
106 countries share the lowest reading, 0.00%, among the 164 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
Which country has the highest coal power?
Botswana, at 98.25%, among the 164 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Coal Share of Electricity Generation cover?
164 in 2024, and 173 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 164 to 173 between editions.
What is the world average coal power?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 164 compared in 2024, the figure was 0.00%.
Is this Ember’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. Ember publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Coal Share of Electricity Generation published?
This site holds 25 editions, describing 2000 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Ember, under CC BY 4.0. From Ember’s Yearly Electricity Data, the same public download its own data explorer offers. The percentages are Ember’s own, not recomputed here; where Ember prints no coal row for a country, the country is left out rather than shown as zero. Some countries are not shown — India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom among them — because Ember takes their figures from publishers whose terms do not allow reuse on a commercial site. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Coal Share of Electricity Generation — Ember
From Ember’s Yearly Electricity Data, the same public download its own data explorer offers. The percentages are Ember’s own, not recomputed here; where Ember prints no coal row for a country, the country is left out rather than shown as zero. Some countries are not shown — India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom among them — because Ember takes their figures from publishers whose terms do not allow reuse on a commercial site.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: Ember. Yearly Electricity Data. London: Ember (Ember Energy Research CIC).
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-10-02.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: Ember publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Coal power by country: Coal Share of Electricity Generation, data from Ember. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/coal-electricity