Imagine a single material now so ubiquitous that we've created over 9.5 billion tonnes of it since 1950, with current annual production soaring past 400 million metric tons and still climbing.
Key Takeaways
- Global plastic production reached 400 million metric tons in 2022, up from 390 million in 2021
- Annual global production of plastics exceeded 367 million tonnes in 2019 according to industry reports
- In 2020, worldwide plastic resin production totaled 367.8 million metric tons despite pandemic disruptions
- China leads global plastic production with 32% share in 2022 at 131 million tons
- United States plastic production totaled 37.9 million metric tons in 2022
- Europe (EU27+UK+NO) produced 55.5 million tonnes of plastics in 2022
- Polyethylene (PE) accounted for 29% of global plastic production at 116 million tons in 2022
- Polypropylene (PP) production reached 79 million metric tons worldwide in 2022
- Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) global output was 47 million tonnes in 2021
- Global plastic production in 1950 was just 2 million metric tons
- By 1970, worldwide plastics output had grown to 35 million tonnes annually
- In 1980, global production reached 70 million metric tons
- Global plastics production expected to reach 600 million tonnes by 2030
- Projections show plastic production doubling to 800 million tons by 2040
- By 2050, annual global output could hit 1.1 billion tonnes per OECD forecasts
Global plastic production continues to rise significantly year after year.
Future Projections
- Global plastics production expected to reach 600 million tonnes by 2030
- Projections show plastic production doubling to 800 million tons by 2040
- By 2050, annual global output could hit 1.1 billion tonnes per OECD forecasts
- China's production capacity to grow 20% to 160 million tons by 2025
- Global PE production projected at 150 million tons by 2030, CAGR 4%
- Plastics demand to increase 3.6% annually to 2030 driven by packaging
- EU plastic production forecast stable at 55 million tons through 2030
- Middle East capacity to reach 35 million tons by 2025 from new crackers
- India's output projected to 25 million tons by 2025 at 7% CAGR
- Global recycled plastics production to triple to 30 million tons by 2030
- Petrochemical feedstocks for plastics to consume 20% of oil by 2050
- US plastics production forecast to grow to 45 million tons by 2030
- Asia-Pacific plastic production to hit 300 million tons by 2030
- Bio-based plastics output projected from 2.1 to 5.8 million tons by 2024
- Global PVC production to reach 60 million tonnes by 2030
- Cumulative plastic production 2016-2040 expected at 1.2 billion tons
- Polypropylene global capacity to expand to 100 million tons by 2025
Future Projections Interpretation
We're engineering our own geological era out of convenience, as these relentless projections map a future where we'll be buried in our own ingenuity unless we seriously disrupt this plastic trajectory.
Global Production
- Global plastic production reached 400 million metric tons in 2022, up from 390 million in 2021
- Annual global production of plastics exceeded 367 million tonnes in 2019 according to industry reports
- In 2020, worldwide plastic resin production totaled 367.8 million metric tons despite pandemic disruptions
- Global primary plastic production was approximately 460 million tonnes in 2019, including all polymers
- The world produced over 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic cumulatively from 1950 to 2015
- In 2023 estimates, global plastic production hit 410 million metric tons driven by packaging demand
- Total global plastics production capacity stood at 555 million tons per year as of 2021
- Plastics production worldwide accounted for 4-8% of global oil consumption in 2022
- In 2018, global production of plastic resins reached 359 million tonnes
- Cumulative plastic production from 1950-2020 estimated at 9.5 billion tonnes globally
- Global output of virgin plastics was 348 million tons in 2017 per industry data
- In 2021, plastics manufacturing contributed $1.2 trillion to global GDP indirectly
- Worldwide plastic production grew at a CAGR of 4.2% from 2010-2020
- Global plastic production in 2000 was 150 million tonnes
- In 2024 projections, global plastics output to reach 420 million tons amid economic recovery
- Plastics represent 12% of global petrochemical output by volume in 2022
- Total global plastic production facilities number over 10,000 as of 2023
- In 2015, world plastic production was 381 million tonnes including fibers
- Global virgin plastic production per capita reached 60 kg in high-income countries in 2020
- Plastics production emitted 1.8 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2019 globally
Global Production Interpretation
We’ve become so efficient at burying our future in plastic that the annual tonnage now reads like a macabre scoreboard we keep trying to top.
Historical Trends
- Global plastic production in 1950 was just 2 million metric tons
- By 1970, worldwide plastics output had grown to 35 million tonnes annually
- In 1980, global production reached 70 million metric tons
- Plastics production hit 100 million tons globally in 1988
- Annual output surpassed 200 million tonnes worldwide by 2002
- In 1990, global plastic production totaled 110 million metric tons
- Production grew from 1.5 million tons in 1950 to 150 million in 2000, CAGR 8.4%
- By 2010, world plastics output was 280 million tonnes
- In 1960, global production was 6.8 million metric tons
- Plastics production doubled every 11 years from 1964 to 2014 globally
- In 2005, annual global output reached 220 million tonnes
- Cumulative production 1950-2015: 6.3 billion tons of virgin plastics
- Europe produced 45 million tons in 2000 historically
- US plastics output was 20 million tons in 1970
- Global production rate accelerated to 311 million tons by 2014
- In 1995, world plastic production was 135 million metric tons
- Asia's share rose from 10% in 1980 to 50% by 2020 in production
- Global PET production grew from 1 million tons in 1970 to 20 million in 2010
- Polyethylene production tripled from 30 million tons in 1990 to 90 million in 2015
Historical Trends Interpretation
Humanity spent the twentieth century perfecting the art of creating a material so permanent that by 2015 we’d made enough to bury every man, woman, and child under a metric ton of it, only to realize we had no earthly idea how to put it back.
Production by Type
- Polyethylene (PE) accounted for 29% of global plastic production at 116 million tons in 2022
- Polypropylene (PP) production reached 79 million metric tons worldwide in 2022
- Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) global output was 47 million tonnes in 2021
- Polystyrene (PS) production totaled 20 million tons globally in 2022
- PET resin production hit 28 million tonnes in 2022 primarily for bottles
- High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) output was 52 million tons in 2021
- Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) produced 31 million tonnes globally in 2022
- Polycarbonate (PC) global production reached 7.5 million tons in 2023
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) output at 8.2 million tonnes in 2022
- Polyurethane (PU) production totaled 25 million tons worldwide in 2021
- Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) manufactured 5.8 million tonnes in 2022
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) for textiles produced 15 million tons in 2020
- Polyamide (PA or Nylon) global output 8.9 million tonnes in 2022
- Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) production at 3.7 million tons in 2021
- Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) reached 2.1 million tonnes globally in 2022
- Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) for plastics-related uses 4.5 million tons in 2023
Production by Type Interpretation
It is a grim and monumental irony that we have cataloged our devotion to these synthetic materials with the same meticulous, ton-by-ton accounting we should be applying to their inevitable, and mountainous, afterlife.
Regional Production
- China leads global plastic production with 32% share in 2022 at 131 million tons
- United States plastic production totaled 37.9 million metric tons in 2022
- Europe (EU27+UK+NO) produced 55.5 million tonnes of plastics in 2022
- Middle East plastic production capacity reached 25 million tons in 2021
- Asia-Pacific excluding China produced 110 million tonnes of plastics in 2020
- India's plastic production was 19.8 million tons in FY2022, growing 10% YoY
- Germany manufactured 14.5 million tonnes of plastics in 2022 as Europe's top producer
- Saudi Arabia's plastic output hit 12 million tons in 2023 from petrochemical expansions
- Japan's plastics production stood at 13.2 million metric tons in 2022
- South Korea produced 9.8 million tonnes of plastics in 2021
- Brazil's plastic production reached 7.8 million tons in 2022
- Russia manufactured 6.2 million tonnes of polymers in 2022 despite sanctions
- Mexico's plastics output was 5.4 million tons in 2021
- Iran's plastic production capacity at 8.5 million tons annually in 2023
- Turkey produced 8.1 million tonnes of plastics in 2022
- Thailand's plastic resin production totaled 4.2 million tons in 2022
- Vietnam manufactured 3.9 million tonnes in 2023 with rapid growth
- Africa's total plastic production estimated at 5 million tons in 2020
- Australia's plastics production was 1.5 million tons in 2021
Regional Production Interpretation
The world has become a factory floor for synthetic eternity, with China leading the assembly line, the West and Asia maintaining vast production shifts, and every other region, from the desert kingdoms to emerging economies, busily molding their own mountain of forever-material.
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