Cobalt production in high-income countries in 2024 — 18,570 t. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 72.5%.
1995–2024 · tonnes
How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: High-income countries
| Year | t | Change | Change, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 18,570 | −1,340 | −6.73% |
| 2023 | 19,910 | +90 | +0.45% |
| 2022 | 19,820 | +664 | +3.47% |
| 2021 | 19,156 | −2,815 | −12.81% |
| 2020 | 21,971 | +4,932 | +28.95% |
| 2019 | 17,039 | +411 | +2.47% |
| 2018 | 16,628 | −1,556 | −8.56% |
| 2017 | 18,184 | −190 | −1.03% |
| 2016 | 18,374 | −1,835 | −9.08% |
| 2015 | 20,209 | −239 | −1.17% |
| 2014 | 20,448 | +553 | +2.78% |
| 2013 | 19,895 | +1,347 | +7.26% |
| 2012 | 18,548 | −1,338 | −6.73% |
| 2011 | 19,886 | +2,350 | +13.4% |
| 2010 | 17,536 | +887 | +5.33% |
| 2009 | 16,649 | −5,404 | −24.5% |
| 2008 | 22,053 | +71 | +0.32% |
| 2007 | 21,982 | +1,888 | +9.4% |
| 2006 | 20,094 | +2,148 | +11.97% |
| 2005 | 17,946 | −390 | −2.13% |
| 2004 | 18,336 | +187 | +1.03% |
| 2003 | 18,149 | +767 | +4.41% |
| 2002 | 17,382 | +1,744 | +11.15% |
| 2001 | 15,638 | +1,541 | +10.94% |
| 2000 | 14,096 | +2,763 | +24.38% |
| 1999 | 11,333 | −397 | −3.38% |
| 1998 | 11,730 | +502 | +4.47% |
| 1997 | 11,228 | +172 | +1.56% |
| 1996 | 11,056 | +293 | +2.72% |
| 1995 | 10,763 | — | — |
Cobalt production measured as contained metal, from U.S. Geological Survey data. Cobalt is needed for the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries, and its production is concentrated more tightly than that of any other important metal: more than two-thirds of the world total comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is because of that concentration that battery makers have spent recent years looking for chemistries with a smaller share of cobalt, or none at all.
Important: Cobalt is almost always mined as a by-product — together with copper or nickel — so its volume depends on the market for the main metal and not only on demand for cobalt itself.
Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries (USGS), license Public domain (work of a U.S. federal agency).
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