FAOSTAT releases today new data on bioenergy from 1990 to 2024. The data covers 193 countries and 22 territories, with regional and global aggregates.

Launched in 2024, the FAOSTAT Bioenergy domain provides information on the production and final consumption of bioenergy by type of biofuel: solid biofuels (animal waste, bagasse, black liquor, charcoal, fuelwood, other vegetal material and residues); liquid biofuels (bio jet kerosene, biodiesel, biogasoline, other liquid biofuels), and gaseous biofuels (biogas). The conversion from physical units to energy is done by FAO according to the International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES) and the UN Statistical Division (UNSD) guidelines.

The bioenergy domain is the result of a collaboration between FAO Statistics Division (ESS), FAO Office of Climate and Biodiversity (OCB) and the UN Statistical Division (UNSD). 

Main findings:

• World bioenergy production increased from 28 exajoules (EJ) to 51 EJ between 1990 and 2024, while final consumption increased from 23 EJ to 40 EJ.
• In 2024, world total bioenergy final consumption was dominated by solid biofuels (35.5 EJ, 88 percent), followed by liquid biofuels (4.8 EJ, 12 percent) and gaseous biofuels (0.1 EJ, less than one percent). Eighty percent of global bioenergy final consumption came from fuelwood (22 EJ), other vegetal materials and residues (7 EJ) and biogasoline (2.5 EJ).
• Liquid biofuels consumption expanded almost nineteen-fold between 1990 and 2024, rising from 0.3 EJ to 4.8 EJ, driven primarily by biodiesel and biogasoline.
• The largest final consumers of bioenergy by type in 2024 were Asia for solid biofuels (16.4 EJ, about half of the world total), the Americas for liquid biofuels (2.6 EJ, close to 60 percent of the world total) and Europe for gaseous biofuels (0.1 EJ, nearly two-thirds of the world total).
• Across regions, solid biofuels remain the backbone of bioenergy systems despite rapid expansion of liquid and gaseous biofuels since 1990 (about 8 to 9 percent per year). Charcoal consumption nearly doubled between 1990 and 2024, increasing from 1.0 EJ to 2.0 EJ, mainly driven by Africa.