The World’s Top 5 Resource Consumers: Which Countries Lead?

With the world population set to grow to 10 billion by 2050, and already exceeding 8 billion by the end of 2022, we are feeling increasing pressure on resources. This rapid population growth is expected to increase food demand by 70% by 2050 compared to 2017 demand levels. According to UNEP, population growth has contributed 27% to the growth rate of resource extraction over the past 20 years.

According to the Global Footprint Network, resource consumption has tripled over the past 50 years and is now growing by more than 2.3% annually. What are you on? Rapid climate change, increasing extinction of animal species, water scarcity, drought.

As reported in other articles, 2 billion people in the world (26% of the world’s population) lack access to clean water, and 10% of the world’s water is lost as waste each year.

Look at 5 Countries with the Highest Resource Consumption in the World.

5. Indonesia

• Oil consumption in barrels per day in 2023 (in thousands): 1,604
• Electricity consumption (billion kWh): 312
• Coal consumption (thousand short tons): 221,450
• Natural gas consumption (billion cubic feet): 1,274
• Biofuel consumption in barrels per day (in thousands): 179
• Annual water consumption (billion cubic meters): 223
• Total resource consumption: 225,166

Indonesia is rich in water and minerals such as nickel. Nickel is a key component for global decarbonization. According to the UN, the country has 55% of the world’s nickel reserves and plays a key role in the global decarbonization mission.

The country has abundant water, but the island of Java, where 60% of the population lives, only covers 10% of the water supply. This shows that basic resources such as water are unevenly and unsustainably distributed throughout the country.

4. Russia

• Oil consumption in barrels per day in 2023 (in thousands): 3,635
• Electricity consumption (billion kWh): 1,026
• Coal consumption (thousands of short tons): 291,357
• Natural gas consumption (billion cubic feet): 16,677
• Biofuel consumption (barrels) per day (in thousands): N/A
• Annual water consumption (billion cubic meters): 65
• Total resource consumption: 312,809

Among the serious issues of excessive resource consumption discussed here, we note that Russia is a country that is at war and therefore using all its natural resources to sustain itself in the short term without considering global resource scarcity.

Despite Western sanctions, the country has been exporting excess oil to non-Western countries. In addition, it increased its exports of aluminum and nickel to the EU and the US by 70% from March 2022 to June 2022.

To make matters worse, the country’s nuclear monopoly Rosatom reported a 15% increase in exports in 2022, with a backlog of overseas orders reaching $200 billion, according to the Wilson Center.

3. United States

• Oil consumption in barrels per day in 2023 (in thousands): 18,984
• Electricity consumption (billion kWh): 4,128
• Coal consumption (thousands of short tons): 515,555
• Natural gas consumption (billion cubic feet): 32,288 44
• Biofuel consumption in barrels per day (in thousands): 1,132
• Annual water consumption (billion cubic meters): 5
• Total resource consumption: 573,118

Next is the United States. It is clear that one of the most populous and high-income countries in the world is also one of the world’s largest consumers of resources. Specifically, the United States and the EU together are responsible for 74% of global resource consumption, while the United States is responsible for 27% of production.

2. India

• Oil consumption in thousands of barrels per day in 2023: 5,446
• Electricity consumption (billion kWh): 1,463
• Coal consumption (thousands of short tons): 1,273,287
• Natural gas consumption (billion cubic feet): 2,079
• Biofuel consumption in thousands of barrels per day: 92
• Annual water consumption (billion cubic meters): 761
• Total resource consumption: 1,282,731

By 2030, the country’s population is expected to grow to 1.5 billion and, with limited resources, severe resource shortages will occur. According to EcoBusiness, the country’s population represents 18% of the world’s population, while its land, forests and clean water represent just 2.4%, 2% and 4% of the global totals for these resources.

1. China

• Oil consumption in barrels per day in 2023 (in thousands): 16,577
• Electricity consumption (billion kWh): 8,540
• Coal consumption (thousands of short tons): 5,311,746
• Natural gas consumption (billion kWh)
• Biofuel consumption in barrels per day (in thousands): 78
• Annual water consumption (billion cubic meters): 581
• Total resource consumption: 5,349,024

China, 3rd largest country in the world This region is home to 1.4 billion people, the most in the world, so one might expect it to be listed here. But what may seem surprising is the country’s share of resource consumption: 15% of the world’s resources are consumed in China alone.