Coal is the key to the worldwide structure of energy. It accounts for about 40% of the world’s electricity production, hence it is a leading source of electricity. It will soon replace oil and become the largest source of primary energy. Coal dominates the global energy arena due to its abundance, affordability and wide distribution across the world. Coal reserves are estimated at 869 billion tons based on the current production rate. This means that coal should last about 115 years longer compared to the conventional reserves of oil and gas. Especially noteworthy are the significant coal reserves in Asia and southern Africa, two areas of the world that face major challenges in supplying energy to their populations. Coal reserves are highly underestimated in comparison with conventional reserves of oil and gas.

The ten leading countries based on hard coal production
China is the chief coal producer while the United States comes in second. Other major coal producers are India and Australia. Five countries, namely China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan accounted for over 75% of worldwide coal consumption. Despite the swift deployment of renewable energy, mainly in the background of debates around climate change, it is coal that is responsible for the largest upsurge in energy requirement of all energy sources.
Approximately 90% of the total global coal is produced by ten countries with China running in the lead. The statistics below show countries that have substantial coal resources.

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Coal is proving critical in the world's energy growth. The need for coal is ever increasing, and ever larger percentages of electricity produced in the world is becoming reliant on power plants that use the resource. Regardless of the enormous distribution of coal reserves worldwide, these amounts are proving to not be enough. Furthermore, the ecological harms that come as a result of activities related to coal activities are grave matters and, thus, proper actions have to be taken. Consequently, it is essential for governments to discover innovative technologies for improved mining and coal processing, while also taking into account efficiency and the importance of environmental sustainability. It is paramount for policy makers come up with long-lasting technological solutions that look into future, hence putting the coal sector on a path that would allow it to respond better to future global challenges.

The Top 20 Coal Producers In The World
Rank Country Coal production (million tonnes)
1 China 3,874.0
2 United States 906.9
3 Australia 644.0
4 India 537.6
5 Indonesia 458.0
6 Russia 357.6
7 South Africa 260.5
8 Germany 185.8
9 Poland 137.1
10 Kazakhstan 108.7
11 Colombia 88.6
12 Turkey 70.6
13 Canada 68.8
14 Ukraine 60.9
15 Greece 49.3
16 Czech Republic 46.9
17 Serbia 44.4
18 Vietnam 41.2
19 Mongolia 33.2
20 Bulgaria 31.3