COAL PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD IN 1913

As the great World War began on July 31, 1914, the last normal production figures were for 1913. The following [table] of the world’s production of coal for the years 1911-1914 is from “Mineral Resources” of the U. S. Geological Survey, the compilation being credited by Mr. Lesher, of the Survey, to Mr. Wm. G. Gray, statistician of the American Iron and Steel Institute, and Prof. G. A. Roush, editor of “Mineral Industry.”

The output (1880-1916) of the chief coal-producing countries of the world is shown graphically in [Figure 3].

Table 4.—The World’s Production of Coal (in Short Tons)

Country1911191219131914
United States496,371,126 534,466,580 569,960,219 513,525,477
Great Britain304,518,927 291,666,299 321,922,130 297,698,617
Germany259,223,763 281,979,467 305,714,664 270,594,952
Austria-Hungary54,960,298 56,954,579 59,647,957
France43,242,778 45,534,448 45,108,544
Russia29,361,764 33,775,754 35,500,674
Belgium25,411,917 25,322,851 25,196,869
Japan19,436,536 21,648,902 23,988,292 21,700,572
India13,494,573 16,471,100 18,163,856
China16,534,500 16,534,500 15,432,200[5]
Canada11,323,388 14,512,829 15,115,089 13,597,982
New South Wales9,374,596 10,897,134 11,663,865 11,644,476
Transvaal4,343,680 8,119,288[6]5,225,036
Spain4,316,245 4,559,453 4,731,647
Natal2,679,551 See [note 6] 2,898,726
New Zealand2,315,390 2,438,929 2,115,834
Holland1,628,097 1,901,902 2,064,608
Chile1,277,191 1,470,917 1,362,334
Queensland998,556 1,010,426 1,162,497 1,180,825
Mexico1,400,000[5]982,396
Bosnia and Herzegovina848,510 940,174 927,244
Turkey799,168 909,293
Italy614,132 731,720 772,802
Victoria732,328 664,334 668,524
Orange Free State (Orange River Colony)482,690 609,973
Dutch East Indies600,000[5]622,669 453,136
Indo-China460,000[5]471,259
Serbia335,495 335,000
Sweden343,707 397,149 401,199
Western Australia300,000[5]330,488 351,687
Peru300,000[5]307,461 301,970
Formosa280,999 306,941
Bulgaria270,410 324,511
Rhodesia212,529 216,140 237,728
Roumania266,784
Cape Colony (Cape of Good Hope)89,023 See [note 6] 67,481
Korea138,508
Tasmania70,000[5]59,987 61,648 68,130
British Borneo100,000[5] 49,762
Spitzbergen44,092
Brazil16,535
Portugal10,000[5]16,938 27,053
Venezuela10,000[5]12,000[5]13,355
Switzerland8,267
Philippine Islands2,000[5]2,998
Unspecified1,016,947[5]
Total1,309,565,000[7]1,377,000,000[7]1,478,000,000[7]1,346,000,000

[5] Estimated.

[6] Transvaal included Natal and Cape of Good Hope.

[7] Approximate.

Table 5.—Reserves

Total coal reserves in millions of metric tons have been estimated, by continents, as follows:

ContinentMillions
of tons
North America5,073,000
Asia1,280,000
Europe784,000
Australia and Oceania170,000
Africa58,000
South America32,000

The countries on pre-war basis having the greatest reserves are as follows:

CountryMillions
of tons
United States (half lignite)3,527,000
Canada (three-fourths lignite)1,234,000
China996,000 to 1,500,000
British Isles190,000
Siberia (largely lignite)173,000
Germany (including Upper Silesia and the Saar)423,000
New South Wales118,000
India79,000
Russia including Dombrova field (Poland)60,000
Austria (chiefly in Bohemia, Silesia and Galicia)54,000
France17,600

Fig. 4.—Coal reserves of chief producing countries, according to “Coal Resources of the World,” in millions of metric tons. Squares are to scale: lines showing relative production are not on same scale as squares.

The reserves of the principal productive coal fields are graphically shown in [Figure 4].

The distribution of the coal deposits of the world and the estimated reserves in these deposits are shown in [Plate II].