Coal demand falls by over 50% from 2007 peak, dropping from 1,705 Mtce to 833 Mtce in 2024

Key takeaways

  • Coal demand peaked in 2007 at 1,705.1 Mtce, after a steady rise from 1,123.2 Mtce in 1974, marking a 52% increase over three decades.
  • A dramatic drop followed post 2007, with demand falling by 44.8% to 941.3 Mtce by 2020, a loss of over 763 Mtce in just 13 years.
  • Between 2020 and 2024, the decline continued, albeit more gradually, reaching 832.7 Mtce, indicating a consistent downward trend.
  • Coal consumption in 2024 is the lowest in five decades, even lower than 1974 levels, reflecting a major shift in global energy use.

Coal, once the backbone of industrial energy, has seen its global demand slide into a prolonged decline. After reaching a historic high of 1,705.1 Mtce in 2007, usage has plummeted by more than 870 Mtce in less than two decades, a drop that mirrors rising environmental policies, technological shifts, and a pivot to cleaner alternatives.

By 2024, global demand for coal sits at just 832.7 Mtce, falling below even its 1974 level. This reversal represents not just a market contraction, but a structural change in the world’s energy priorities. The coal era is not just fading; it is being systematically replaced.

Source:

International Energy Agency

Period:

1974 - 2024
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Malacca and Hormuz handle about 24% and 22% of global oil supply, respectively
  • The Strait of Malacca is the world’s most important oil chokepoint, carrying about 24–25% of global oil supply in recent years.
  • The Strait of Hormuz moves around 20–23% of global oil supply, making it the second-largest energy transit chokepoint.
  • The Cape of Good Hope carries about 9–10% of global oil flows, and its share tends to increase when other chokepoints face disruptions.
  • The Bab el-Mandeb saw a sharp drop in oil flow share from about 9% in 2023 to around 4% in 2024, reflecting security concerns affecting shipping in the Red Sea corridor.
  • Oil transported through the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline system dropped significantly after 2023, falling from about 8.6% to below 5%, showing how quickly routes shift during geopolitical tensions.
  • The Strait of Malacca’s share has remained consistently high and stable, indicating its structural importance to Asian energy demand.
  • Alternative routes like the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa are longer but strategically crucial, especially when Middle Eastern chokepoints become unstable.
The national grid collapses an average of 7 times annually under Tinubu, down from 13 times under Buhari
  • The highest number of grid collapses in the past 16 years occurred in 2010, with 42 incidents recorded.
  • During Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Nigeria’s grid collapsed an average of 24.4 times a year, the highest among the three administrations.
  • Under Muhammadu Buhari, the annual average dropped to 12.8 collapses per year, indicating improved grid stability compared to earlier years.
  • Under Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the average has fallen further to about 6.7 collapses annually.
  • 2016 recorded the highest number of collapses during the Buhari administration, with 28 incidents.
  • The most stable years in the dataset were 2020 and 2021, with only four collapses each.
Nigeria’s power grid is 69.9% powered by thermal plants
  • Thermal energy dominates Nigeria’s grid, supplying 69.9% of total power.
  • Hydro plants contribute 30.1%, making them the country’s second major source.
  • The heavy reliance on thermal generation shows Nigeria’s grid is still largely fossil-fuel driven.
  • Hydro remains a crucial but secondary source, supporting overall supply stability.
Nigeria's DisCos recorded ₦360bn revenue gap after collecting ₦1.12tn from ₦1.49tn billed in H1 2025
  • DisCos billed approximately ₦1.49 trillion but collected only ₦1.12 trillion in H1 2025.
  • Ikeja and Eko DisCos generated the highest revenues, collecting ₦206.22 billion and ₦210.59 billion, respectively.
  • Revenue collection gaps remain significant, with Jos, Kaduna, and Yola posting the weakest collection performances.
  • The wide gap between billings and actual collections suggests persistent challenges in customer payment compliance, metering, and distribution efficiency.
Nigeria has installed 3.65 million electricity metres since 2019; Ikeja DisCo leads with 823,000, and Aba Power at the bottom with 56,000
  • Approximately 3.65 million metres have been installed nationwide across all frameworks since 2019.
  • Ikeja DisCo leads by a wide margin with 823,000 installations, over twice the volume of most other DisCos.
  • Kaduna, Yola, and Aba Power recorded the lowest metre installations, each below 100,000.
  • The disparities in installation totals reveal uneven progress in achieving nationwide metering coverage.
More than 8 in 10 electricity customers of Ikeja and Eko DisCos are now metered
  • Ikeja (84.6%) and Eko (83.3%) lead Nigeria’s metering performance, keeping unmetered customers below 17%.
  • Eight out of the twelve DisCos have metering rates below 60%, showing a wide sector imbalance.
  • The worst-performing DisCos — Yola, Jos, Kaduna, and Kano — have over 65% unmetered customers.
  • Regional disparities are sharp: Lagos and Abuja outperform northern and south-eastern DisCos by large margins.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved