Global Energy Monitor · Operating Coal Power Capacity
Coal power plants by country
How much coal power capacity does a country operate, and how much more is being built or planned?
Of the 109 countries compared in 2026, China had the highest reading, 1,263,101, and 35 countries shared the lowest reading, 0. In the middle country the figure was 525.
Share
Coal power plants · 2026
Context statistic
Highest of 109China
1,263,101012026 · values only
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 109 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Highest on each continent
- Africa
South Africa45,024 - AmericasUnited States184,448
- AsiaChina1,263,101
- Europe
Russia37,278 - Oceania
Australia22,6294 of 21 measured
- Every region
02Every measured country
Coal power plants 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 higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- 0
- 30–510
- 525–1,907
- 1,990–7,230
- 8,348–1,263,101
- No reading in 2026
- Asia
2,950
the middle country, of 32 measured · 52 members
China1,263,1016 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Europe
660
the middle country, of 33 measured · 49 members
Russia37,27810 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Americas
518
the middle country, of 16 measured · 48 members
United States184,4485 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
0
the middle country, of 24 measured · 55 members
South Africa45,02413 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
4 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea.
Australia22,629
Papua New Guinea0Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Eastern Asia
16,193
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
China1,263,101
Mongolia1,295Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
5,838
the middle country, of 9 measured · 11 members
Indonesia60,610
Myanmar180Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Asia
4,065
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
India254,4332 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
2,813
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Russia37,2782 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Western Europe
1,907
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Germany28,1732 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- South America
1,069
the middle country, of 6 measured · 12 members
Chile3,1172 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Southern Europe
692
the middle country, of 12 measured · 17 members
Serbia4,7852 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Central America
139
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Mexico5,3782 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Western Africa
15
the middle country, of 6 measured · 16 members
Nigeria3453 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Eastern Africa
0
the middle country, of 10 measured · 19 members
Zimbabwe1,7906 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Northern Europe
0
the middle country, of 6 measured · 13 members
Finland6534 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Asia
0
the middle country, of 6 measured · 19 members
Türkiye20,4734 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia22,629
New Zealand750Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
3 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico.
Dominican Republic1,064
Jamaica0Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan13,291
Tajikistan400Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea.
New Caledonia370Papua New Guinea0Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Middle Africa
1 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: DR Congo.
DR Congo0Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
3 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Egypt, Morocco, Sudan.
Morocco4,0922 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States184,448
Canada3,231Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Southern Africa
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa.
South Africa45,024
Eswatini0Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
109 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 525; a quarter are above 3,425, and a quarter below 0. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 109 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Neither end is better: this is the size of a coal fleet, so the largest economies lead. A country missing from the table has no coal plant of 30 megawatts or more in any status the tracker follows. Read the construction and proposed columns to see where coal power is still growing.
Showing 25 of 109 countries
Values for 2026.
05In this edition
Coal power plants in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading
1,263,101
Coal-fired capacity in operation (megawatts)
Lowest reading
Reached 35 times by 35 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0
Coal-fired capacity in operation (megawatts)
06The measure
About coal power plants
This is how much coal-fired power-station capacity a country has in operation, in megawatts, from Global Energy Monitor’s plant-by-plant register of every coal unit in the world. Beside it are the plants being built, proposed, mothballed and retired.
What the number is: Coal-fired capacity in operation (megawatts).
07Where 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 plants is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Coal Share of Electricity GenerationEmber · 81 countries in commonρ 0.80
- Consumption-Based CO₂ EmissionsGlobal Carbon Project · 90 countries in commonρ 0.63
- GitHub DevelopersGitHub · 108 countries in commonρ 0.59
Moves against
Where coal power plants is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Poverty Headcount at National Poverty LinesWorld Bank Group · 87 countries in commonρ −0.46
- Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityKeyFAO · 81 countries in commonρ −0.44
- Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 88 countries in commonρ −0.41
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 302 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
08Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The data, edition by edition
More from Global Energy Monitor
09Questions
Coal power plants: questions and answers
Which country has the highest coal power plants?
China, at 1,263,101, among the 109 countries compared in 2026.
Which country has the lowest coal power plants?
35 countries share the lowest reading, 0, among the 109 compared in 2026, so no single country is named.
How many countries does the Operating Coal Power Capacity cover?
109 in 2026.
What is the world average coal power plants?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 109 compared in 2026, the figure was 525.
Is this Global Energy Monitor’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. Global Energy Monitor 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 Operating Coal Power Capacity published?
This site holds one edition, describing 2026.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Global Energy Monitor, under CC BY 4.0. From Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Plant Tracker, read from its own country summary table. Figures are the table’s stored values, to a tenth of a megawatt, which is more precise than the whole numbers it displays. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
10Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Operating Coal Power Capacity — Global Energy Monitor
From Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Plant Tracker, read from its own country summary table. Figures are the table’s stored values, to a tenth of a megawatt, which is more precise than the whole numbers it displays.
Newest edition
Report year 2026Data year 2026
Cite the source as: Global Coal Plant Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, July 2026 release.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: Global Energy Monitor publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- 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 plants by country: Operating Coal Power Capacity, data from Global Energy Monitor. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/coal-power-capacity