Global steel production falls to 1.85 billion tonnes as India gains ground

Global crude steel production declined to 1.85 billion tonnes in 2025, extending the industry's recent slowdown and marking the second consecutive year below the 1.9-billion-tonne threshold, according to the latest World Steel in Figures 2026 report published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

Worldwide crude steel output reached 1.849 billion tonnes in 2025, down from 1.887 billion tonnes in 2024 and well below the record 1.963 billion tonnes produced in 2021.

China remains dominant despite production decline

China retained its position as the world's largest steel producer by a wide margin, but output fell by 4.4% year-on-year to 960.8 million tonnes. Despite the decline, China still accounted for more than half of global steel production.

India further strengthened its position as the world's second-largest steel producer. Output increased from 149.4 million tonnes to 164.9 million tonnes, representing growth of more than 10% and reinforcing the country's role as the industry's most important growth market.

The United States moved ahead of Japan to become the third-largest steel producer with 81.9 million tonnes, while Japanese production declined to 80.7 million tonnes.

Germany slips further below historic levels

Germany remained Europe's largest steel producer, ranking eighth globally with 34.1 million tonnes of crude steel. However, production was down sharply from 37.3 million tonnes in 2024 and remained well below historic levels.

Turkey continued its recovery, increasing output to 38.1 million tonnes and moving ahead of Germany in the global ranking.

Within the European Union, total crude steel production reached 126 million tonnes in 2025. More than half of EU production still came from oxygen-based blast furnace routes, while electric arc furnaces accounted for 45.8%.

Electric arc furnace share reaches 30%

Globally, steelmaking remains dominated by the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace route, which accounted for 69.4% of crude steel production in 2025.

Electric arc furnace (EAF) production represented 30.3% of global output, highlighting the gradual but continuing shift toward scrap-based steelmaking and lower-carbon production routes.

The regional picture varies significantly. In North America, EAFs accounted for almost 72% of production, while the share reached more than 90% in Italy and over 70% in Turkey. China, by contrast, continued to rely heavily on blast furnace production, with EAFs accounting for just 10.6% of output.

Industry remains highly concentrated

The world's largest steel producer in 2025 was China Baowu Group, which produced 124.8 million tonnes of crude steel.

ArcelorMittal remained the largest producer outside China with 63.4 million tonnes, followed by Nippon Steel at 57.8 million tonnes and Ansteel Group at 57.6 million tonnes.

Among European producers, Thyssenkrupp ranked 47th globally with crude steel production of 9.4 million tonnes.

Steel demand remains resilient

Despite weaker production, steel remains one of the world's most important industrial materials. According to worldsteel, global apparent steel use reached 209 kilograms per capita in 2025.

The association also highlighted the industry's continued efforts to improve sustainability. Data collected from participating steelmakers showed average greenhouse-gas emissions of 2.18 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per tonne of crude steel and material efficiency of almost 93%.

Source: Worldsteel, Photo: Fotolia