More than a quarter of a century after the UK banned asbestos, the world still mines close to a million tonnes of it a year. This page gathers the global asbestos statistics in one place: how much is produced and where, which countries have banned it, how much remains in the ground as reserves, and how many people the fibre kills worldwide. The core figures come from official and peer-reviewed sources — principally the US Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the World Health Organization, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat and the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study — and each figure is given with its data period. UK numbers appear only as one-line comparators; the detailed picture for Great Britain sits on our UK asbestos statistics page.
Key facts and figures
- ~960,000 tonnes of asbestos were mined worldwide in 2025 (estimated), up from ~949,000 tonnes in 2024.
- 306,900 tonnes made Russia the world's largest producer in 2024 — roughly a third of global output.
- ~73% of the world's ~150 million tonnes of asbestos reserves sit in Russia (about 110 million tonnes).
- 200,000+ deaths a year are attributed to occupational asbestos exposure in WHO/ILO estimates for 2016, cited in WHO’s August 2026 fact sheet; over 70% of work-related cancer deaths.
- 216,535 deaths in 2021 were linked to asbestos-attributable lung cancer and mesothelioma in the GBD 2021 analysis.
- More than 50 WHO Member States have prohibited asbestos use, according to WHO’s August 2026 fact sheet. Counts depend on scope and exemptions.
- 2005 was the year the Rotterdam Convention’s Chemical Review Committee recommended listing chrysotile; it remains outside Annex III.
- ~55% down — world fibre consumption has more than halved since 2000, from ~2 million tonnes to ~930,000 tonnes in 2025.
Reviewed on 15 October 2026. Production and consumption estimates are from USGS’s February 2026 edition and cover 2025. WHO’s fact sheet was updated on 11 August 2026, but its occupational death estimate relates to 2016. The GBD analysis relates to 2021. Publication dates and the years estimated should not be confused.
Which countries still produce asbestos?
USGS lists Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Brazil as the main producers. Its 2025 estimates are 310,000, 250,000, 250,000 and 150,000 tonnes respectively. The 2024 Brazil entry of 166,890 tonnes is based on export sales, not a separately reported mine-output measurement.
USGS reports 306,900 tonnes for Russia in 2024 and estimates 310,000 in 2025. It gives China about 250,000 tonnes in each year and Kazakhstan 225,700 in 2024 and 250,000 in 2025. For Brazil, the 2024 entry of 166,890 tonnes is explicitly based on the sole producer’s export sales; the 2025 production estimate is 150,000 tonnes. USGS notes the continuing legal and mine-closure process in Brazil despite the federal court’s asbestos rulings.
| Producer | 2024 (tonnes) | 2025 estimate (tonnes) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 306,900 | 310,000 | Largest listed producer; about 32% of 2024 world total |
| China | 250,000 estimate | 250,000 | Both years estimated |
| Kazakhstan | 225,700 | 250,000 | USGS reported and estimated figures |
| Brazil | 166,890 | 150,000 | 2024 entry uses producer-reported export sales |
| World total, rounded | 949,000 | 960,000 | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, February 2026 |
The country figures include estimates and the Brazil export-sales proxy. The 2024 entries sum to 949,490 tonnes, which USGS rounds to 949,000; the 2025 estimates sum to 960,000. These are metric tonnes. Differences caused by rounding are not evidence of an unexplained additional producer.
Where are the world's asbestos reserves?
USGS reports about 110 million tonnes of asbestos reserves in Russia and a rounded world total of 150 million tonnes: roughly 73%. These are reserve estimates in the February 2026 publication. They are distinct from annual production and from broader geological resources.
Reserves are the quantity that can be economically extracted with current technology, so the true resource in the ground is larger still. With annual world production under a million tonnes, the reported reserves represent well over a century of mining at current rates — the supply constraint on the global asbestos trade is demand and regulation, not geology.
How much asbestos is still consumed worldwide?
USGS estimates worldwide consumption of unmanufactured asbestos fibre at 930,000 tonnes in 2025, nearly 55% below approximately two million tonnes in 2000. This is a raw-fibre consumption measure, distinct from mine production and from the quantity of asbestos already installed in buildings.
What remains is heavily concentrated. The bulk of today's consumption is in a handful of countries in Asia and the former Soviet region — chiefly for asbestos-cement roofing and pipes, where cheap chrysotile products still undercut safer alternatives. As those markets are exactly the ones without bans, global consumption has flattened rather than fallen to zero.
| Year and geography | Raw-fibre consumption | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 — world | Approximately 2 million tonnes | USGS MCS 2026 historical comparison |
| 2025 — world | 930,000 tonnes estimated | USGS MCS 2026 |
| 2025 — United States | 50 tonnes estimated, from stocks | USGS MCS 2026; excludes asbestos in manufactured products |
How many countries have banned asbestos?
WHO’s August 2026 fact sheet states that more than 50 Member States have prohibited asbestos use. IBAS maintains a separate list, revised on 23 June 2026, with different geographic coverage and notes on exemptions and transition periods. A list entry should not be treated as proof that every use, import, export or existing installation is prohibited without exception.
A new announcement is not necessarily a new prohibition already in force. For example, the IBAS chronology records Saudi Arabia’s asbestos ban in 1998, so a later enforcement announcement should not be described as its first ban. Future commencement dates and country-specific exceptions need to be checked before counting a jurisdiction as newly covered.
The principal chrysotile prohibition came into force in Great Britain on 24 November 1999 and in Northern Ireland on 2 May 2000, with limited exceptions at the time. Our UK ban timeline explains those stages. The prohibition on new use did not remove asbestos already installed in buildings.
How many people die from asbestos worldwide each year?
WHO’s fact sheet, updated on 11 August 2026, cites WHO/ILO estimates for 2016 of more than 200,000 annual deaths caused by occupational asbestos exposure. This represents more than 70% of work-related cancer deaths, with nearly four million disability-adjusted life years lost. It is an estimate of past disease burden, not a count of deaths registered worldwide in 2026.
A separate analysis published in BMJ Public Health in 2025, drawing on the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study, put the number of deaths from asbestos-attributable thoracic cancers at 216,535 in 2021. That breaks down into 189,398 lung-cancer deaths — about 9.4% of all lung-cancer deaths worldwide — and 27,136 mesothelioma deaths, which represent 91.6% of all mesothelioma deaths globally. The near-total attribution for mesothelioma reflects how specific that cancer is to asbestos exposure.
Furuya and colleagues’ 2018 paper estimated around 255,000 annual asbestos-related deaths, including about 233,000 associated with work. Its widely cited one-death-per-20-tonnes relationship is a historical population-level comparison, not a prediction that a particular consignment will cause a fixed number of deaths. Differences between this estimate, WHO/ILO and GBD reflect their periods, disease coverage and modelling methods.
| Estimate | Annual deaths | Scope and period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO/ILO | More than 200,000 | Occupational exposure; estimates for 2016 | WHO fact sheet, updated August 2026 |
| GBD 2021 analysis | 216,535 in 2021 | Occupational asbestos-attributable lung cancer and mesothelioma | BMJ Public Health, 2025 |
| Furuya and colleagues | About 255,000 | Historical model of occupational and non-occupational asbestos deaths | Peer-reviewed paper, 2018 |
By way of UK comparison — the one comparator this page draws — Great Britain recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in 2024, down 109 on 2023 and below its 2011–2020 average of 2,508 a year. That national picture, including asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis, is covered in full on our UK asbestos statistics and asbestosis statistics pages.
Why hasn't asbestos been listed under the Rotterdam Convention?
The Rotterdam Convention’s Chemical Review Committee recommended chrysotile for Annex III in 2005, but the Parties have not reached consensus to list it. It remained outside Annex III after COP-12 in April–May 2025. Listing would apply the Convention’s prior informed consent procedure to international trade; it would not itself impose a worldwide ban.
The Convention’s published records distinguish a scientific recommendation from a decision adopted by the Parties. Its current Annex III list does not include chrysotile, while other asbestos forms are listed. This is why national bans and international trade controls must be discussed separately.
Is asbestos banned in the USA?
The US EPA’s March 2024 rule prohibits ongoing uses of chrysotile through different compliance deadlines. Raw-fibre imports were prohibited from May 2024; some industrial uses and particular sheet gaskets have longer transition periods, reaching 2036 and, for a specified nuclear-material application, the end of 2037. This is not a statement that every form of asbestos or every legacy product has already been removed or prohibited without exception.
USGS estimates US consumption of unmanufactured asbestos fibre at 50 tonnes in 2025, entirely from stockpiles, compared with 803,000 tonnes in 1973. The 50-tonne figure excludes asbestos contained in manufactured products. USGS also notes that future compliance dates could be affected by litigation; EPA’s current guidance and the applicable rule should be checked for a particular use.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries still produce asbestos?
USGS lists Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Brazil as the main producers. Its 2025 estimates are 310,000, 250,000, 250,000 and 150,000 tonnes respectively. The 2024 Brazil entry of 166,890 tonnes is based on export sales, not a separately reported mine-output measurement.
How many countries have banned asbestos?
WHO states that more than 50 Member States have prohibited asbestos use. Other lists apply different coverage and definitions. Check whether a measure is in force, which uses it covers and whether exemptions remain; a future ban or an enforcement announcement is not necessarily a newly effective national prohibition.
How many people die from asbestos worldwide each year?
WHO’s August 2026 fact sheet cites estimates for 2016 of more than 200,000 deaths annually from occupational asbestos exposure. A separate GBD analysis estimates 216,535 asbestos-attributable lung cancer and mesothelioma deaths in 2021. These are modelled estimates for different periods and disease scopes, not interchangeable current death counts.
Is asbestos banned in the USA?
EPA’s 2024 rule bans ongoing chrysotile uses on different schedules. Raw-fibre imports were prohibited from May 2024, while specified industrial uses have later deadlines, including limited transitions to 2036 and 2037. Legacy asbestos and other forms require separate consideration; this is not an immediate blanket removal of all asbestos.
How much asbestos does the world still mine?
Around 949,000 tonnes were mined in 2024 and an estimated 960,000 tonnes in 2025, almost all of it chrysotile (white asbestos). World fibre consumption has more than halved since 2000 but has flattened rather than reached zero, because demand persists in countries without bans.
Where are most of the world's asbestos reserves?
USGS reports about 110 million tonnes of asbestos reserves in Russia and a rounded world total of 150 million tonnes: roughly 73%. These are reserve estimates in the February 2026 publication. They are distinct from annual production and from broader geological resources.
Related guides
- Asbestos Statistics UK: Deaths, Exposure & Key Facts
- Asbestosis Statistics UK: Deaths, Diagnoses and Trends
- Asbestos Waste Statistics UK: Tonnages and Disposal
- When was asbestos banned in the UK? The complete timeline
- The three types of asbestos: blue, brown and white explained
Sources & references
- US Geological Survey — Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Asbestos
- WHO — Asbestos fact sheet, updated 11 August 2026
- IBAS — Current Asbestos Bans, revised 23 June 2026
- IBAS — Chronology of bans and restrictions
- BMJ Public Health — GBD 2021 occupational asbestos mortality analysis, 2025
- Furuya et al. — Global Asbestos Disaster, 2018
- Rotterdam Convention — Chrysotile recommendation and consensus status
- Rotterdam Convention — Current Annex III chemicals
- US EPA — Current chrysotile risk-management rule and phase-out periods
- HSE — Mesothelioma statistics, July 2026
- Great Britain — Asbestos prohibitions amendment, 1999
- Northern Ireland — Asbestos prohibitions amendment, 2000
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Mark writes about workplace health & safety, asbestos awareness and accredited online training for Asbestos Awareness Course, part of Online CPD Academy.