Lithium Mine Production by Country 2025

What this chart shows: how much lithium each country mined in 2025, measured in metric tons of lithium content (not tons of ore or of lithium carbonate). The figures are the U.S. Geological Survey's estimates for 2025, published in February 2026.

How the data is collected: the USGS compiles mine output from company reports and government statistics for each producing country. In this edition it revised the 2024 figures for Argentina (based on company reports) and Mali (two new operations started in 2024), so 2024 comparisons below use the revised numbers, not the ones published a year earlier.

Background: the USGS estimates that batteries accounted for 88% of global lithium use, ahead of ceramics and glass (4%) and lubricating greases (2%). It links the growth in battery demand to electric vehicles, grid energy storage, portable electronics and power tools. World output outside the United States rose to about 290,000 tons in 2025 from 222,000 tons in 2024, while estimated global consumption was 263,000 tons. The USGS attributes most world production to brine operations in Argentina, Chile and China and to mineral (hard-rock) operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Mali and Zimbabwe.

Limits: U.S. production comes from one brine operation in Nevada, but the USGS withholds the figure to avoid disclosing company data, so the United States is not in the chart and is excluded from the world total. Namibia was temporarily removed from the production list because of legal uncertainties. Country values are estimates and will likely be revised next year.