2026-08-10 · tonnes of crude steel
China makes more steel than the rest combined
Industrial capacity concentrated in one country shapes emissions and trade.
China makes more steel than every other country combined: 54% of the world's roughly 1.9 billion tonnes of crude steel in 2026. That degree of single-country concentration shapes where steelmaking emissions land, how prices move, and who holds leverage in trade disputes over capacity and exports.
1 cell = 1.9 million tonnes of crude steel (0.1% of global steel production) · 1,000 cells
Context
Global crude steel output totals about 1.9 billion tonnes a year, and China's 54% share exceeds the combined production of all other nations. The remaining 46% is spread across every other producing region, none of which comes close on its own.
Steelmaking is emissions-intensive, so concentrating more than half of world output in one country concentrates a corresponding share of the industry's carbon footprint there. The same concentration shapes trade, giving the dominant producer outsized weight in export markets and in the tariff and capacity debates that follow.
Figures come from the World Steel Association's World Steel in Figures 2026, an annual compendium covering crude steel production, apparent steel use, trade flows, and raw-material data. The association's members represent around 85% of global steel production.
World Steel Association production shares.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-08-10-steel-production