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Data

Coal production per capita over the long-term

About this data

Source
Various sources (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
October 18, 2017
Date range
1700–2016

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Various sources – Long-term per capita fossil fuels

Average per capita fossil fuel production - for coal, oil and gas - was calculated by OWID based on published population and national fossil fuel production data.

Per capita fossil fuel production was calculated by dividing national production of coal, oil or gas by the total population in any given year.

Population data was sourced from a combination of Gapminder sources (for data pre-1950), and from 1950 onwards was sourced from the UN Population Division's 2017 Revision.

Fossil fuel production data was sourced from a combination of sources.

Global data from 1800-1965 was sourced from Vaclav Smil's Updated and Revised Edition of his book, 'Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives' (2017). This book can be found on Smil's website at: vaclavsmil.com.

Global data from 1965 onwards was sourced from BP Statistical Review of Global Energy. Available at: bp.com/statisticalreview [accessed 18th October 2017].

Data at the national and regional level is sourced from The SHIFT Project Data Portal, who draws upon Etemad & Luciani and US IEA Historical Statistics. Available at: tsp-data-portal.org [accessed 18th October 2017].

Long-run data on UK coal output was sourced from the UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Historical coal data: coal production, availability and consumption 1853 to 2016. Available at: gov.uk historical coal data [accessed 18th October 2017].

Retrieved on
October 18, 2017
Retrieved from
http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Long-term per capita fossil fuels — Our World in Data based on UN Population Division (2017 Revision); Gapminder; BP Statistical Review of World Energy; Etemad and Luciani; The SHIFT Project Data Portal; Vaclav Smil, Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives (2017); and UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (2017).

Average per capita fossil fuel production - for coal, oil and gas - was calculated by OWID based on published population and national fossil fuel production data.

Per capita fossil fuel production was calculated by dividing national production of coal, oil or gas by the total population in any given year.

Population data was sourced from a combination of Gapminder sources (for data pre-1950), and from 1950 onwards was sourced from the UN Population Division's 2017 Revision.

Fossil fuel production data was sourced from a combination of sources.

Global data from 1800-1965 was sourced from Vaclav Smil's Updated and Revised Edition of his book, 'Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives' (2017). This book can be found on Smil's website at: vaclavsmil.com.

Global data from 1965 onwards was sourced from BP Statistical Review of Global Energy. Available at: bp.com/statisticalreview [accessed 18th October 2017].

Data at the national and regional level is sourced from The SHIFT Project Data Portal, who draws upon Etemad & Luciani and US IEA Historical Statistics. Available at: tsp-data-portal.org [accessed 18th October 2017].

Long-run data on UK coal output was sourced from the UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Historical coal data: coal production, availability and consumption 1853 to 2016. Available at: gov.uk historical coal data [accessed 18th October 2017].

Retrieved on
October 18, 2017
Retrieved from
http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Long-term per capita fossil fuels — Our World in Data based on UN Population Division (2017 Revision); Gapminder; BP Statistical Review of World Energy; Etemad and Luciani; The SHIFT Project Data Portal; Vaclav Smil, Energy Transitions: Global and National Perspectives (2017); and UK Department for Energy and Climate Change (2017).

How we process data at Our World in Data

All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

Read about our data pipeline

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Coal production per capita over the long-term”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Various sources. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/coal-production-per-capita-over-the-long-term.html [online resource] (archived on May 11, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Various sources (2017) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Various sources (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. “Coal production per capita over the long-term” [dataset]. Various sources, “Long-term per capita fossil fuels” [original data]. Retrieved May 11, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/coal-production-per-capita-over-the-long-term.html (archived on May 11, 2026).

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