Cobalt production in upper-middle-income countries in 2024 — 5,915 t. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 106.9%.
1995–2024 · tonnes
How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Upper-middle-income countries
| Year | t | Change | Change, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5,915 | +550 | +10.25% |
| 2023 | 5,365 | −1,176 | −17.98% |
| 2022 | 6,541 | −825 | −11.2% |
| 2021 | 7,366 | −427 | −5.48% |
| 2020 | 7,793 | −607 | −7.22% |
| 2019 | 8,400 | +600 | +7.69% |
| 2018 | 7,800 | −900 | −10.34% |
| 2017 | 8,700 | +200 | +2.35% |
| 2016 | 8,500 | −1,000 | −10.53% |
| 2015 | 9,500 | +0 | +0% |
| 2014 | 9,500 | −100 | −1.04% |
| 2013 | 9,600 | +200 | +2.13% |
| 2012 | 9,400 | +1,200 | +14.63% |
| 2011 | 8,200 | +100 | +1.23% |
| 2010 | 8,100 | +1,050 | +14.89% |
| 2009 | 7,050 | +620 | +9.64% |
| 2008 | 6,430 | −550 | −7.88% |
| 2007 | 6,980 | −1,062 | −13.21% |
| 2006 | 8,042 | +524 | +6.97% |
| 2005 | 7,518 | +2,094 | +38.61% |
| 2004 | 5,424 | +970 | +21.78% |
| 2003 | 4,454 | −508 | −10.24% |
| 2002 | 4,962 | +827 | +20% |
| 2001 | 4,135 | +613 | +17.4% |
| 2000 | 3,522 | +285 | +8.8% |
| 1999 | 3,237 | +97 | +3.09% |
| 1998 | 3,140 | +117 | +3.87% |
| 1997 | 3,023 | +472 | +18.5% |
| 1996 | 2,551 | −308 | −10.77% |
| 1995 | 2,859 | — | — |
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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