Tonnes of Resources Extracted from Earth
CURRENT TOTAL
Live Counter Notable Facts
(Data shown in the table is for 2025. Counter shows current estimate)
Annual Extraction
Per Second Rate
Per Capita
Understanding Tonnes of Resources Extracted from Earth
This counter tracks the staggering volume of materials humanity extracts from Earth annually - including minerals, fossil fuels, biomass, and construction materials. Global material extraction has reached 104 billion tonnes, a 235% increase from 30 billion tonnes in 1970.
This massive extraction includes everything from sand and gravel for construction to rare earth elements for electronics, representing an average of 13.2 tonnes per person annually. The environmental impact is catastrophic - destroying ecosystems, polluting water, and driving climate change.
Without intervention, resource extraction is projected to reach 160 billion tonnes by 2060 - a 60% increase from current levels. This unsustainable trajectory threatens to exhaust critical resources while overwhelming Earth's capacity to absorb waste and regenerate.
Global Resource Extraction Overview
- Non-metallic minerals showed the highest growth at 429% since 1970, driven by construction booms in Asia. Metals increased 300%, fossil fuels 163%, and biomass 124%. Asia now accounts for 60% of global extraction, with China alone responsible for 33%.
- Per capita material consumption varies dramatically by income level: high-income countries consume 27 tonnes per person annually, upper-middle income 17 tonnes, lower-middle income 5 tonnes, and low-income countries just 2 tonnes - a 13-fold difference.
- Material extraction has grown faster than both population and GDP. While population doubled and GDP quadrupled since 1970, material extraction more than tripled, indicating declining resource efficiency despite technological advances.
- Transformative scenarios show material use could be reduced by 30% while achieving 80% GHG emission reductions and 3% larger global GDP through circular economy strategies, demonstrating that prosperity doesn't require ever-increasing extraction.
Resource Extraction Terminology
- Material Footprint: Total raw materials extracted to meet consumption demands
- Domestic Material Consumption: Materials used within a country's borders
- Resource Productivity: Economic value generated per unit of material extracted
- Circular Economy: System minimizing extraction through reuse and recycling
Extraction by Material Type (2025)
- Non-metallic minerals: 48 billion tonnes (46%)
- Biomass: 26 billion tonnes (25%)
- Fossil fuels: 16 billion tonnes (15%)
- Metal ores: 10 billion tonnes (10%)
- Other materials: 4 billion tonnes (4%)
Top Extracting Countries
- China: 34.3 billion tonnes (33%)
- India: 7.5 billion tonnes (7.2%)
- USA: 7.2 billion tonnes (6.9%)
- Indonesia: 5.0 billion tonnes (4.8%)
- Brazil: 4.6 billion tonnes (4.4%)
- Rest of world: 45.4 billion tonnes (43.7%)
Environmental Impacts
- Habitat destruction: 75% of land altered
- Species extinction: 1,000x natural rate
- Water stress: 25% of extraction in water-scarce areas
- Climate change: 50% of GHG emissions
- Waste generation: 100+ billion tonnes annually
Data Sources and References
Methodology and Data Collection
Resource extraction data is compiled from national statistics, industry reports, and international databases including UNEP's Global Material Flows Database, tracking extraction of biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores, and non-metallic minerals.
The real-time counter applies an extraction rate of 3,297 tonnes per second based on annual global extraction of 104 billion tonnes, incorporating regional variations and seasonal patterns in mining, agriculture, and construction.