Key figures
- The world produced 392.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2023.
- The United States produced 100.17 billion cubic feet per day, about a quarter of the world total (25.5%, our arithmetic) and about 1.8 times second-placed Russia (56.73).
- Iran (24.35), China (22.67) and Canada (18.41) complete the top five.
- The ten ranked producers together made 286.66 billion cubic feet per day, 73% of the world total (our arithmetic).
All figures are from the graphic, which cites the Energy Institute.
Global natural gas production by country in text
Title: Global Natural Gas Production (2023). Subtitle: Natural Gas Production in Billion Cubic Feet per Day. Legend: Production (Billion Cubic Feet per Day), with colour bands breaking at 0.1, 1, 10, 50 and 100; World: 392.7. Countries are shaded from light to dark blue by output; countries in grey have no data or very little production. The top ten carry numbered markers, and 14 further countries are labelled with their figures.
| Rank on the map | Country | Production, billion cubic feet per day (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | U.S. | 100.17 |
| 2 | Russia | 56.73 |
| 3 | Iran | 24.35 |
| 4 | China | 22.67 |
| 5 | Canada | 18.41 |
| 6 | Qatar | 17.51 |
| 7 | Australia | 14.68 |
| 8 | Norway | 11.28 |
| 9 | Saudi Arabia | 11.04 |
| 10 | Algeria | 9.82 |
| Not ranked | Malaysia (printed “Malysia”) | 7.84 |
| Not ranked | Turkmenistan (printed “TKM”) | 7.38 |
| Not ranked | Indonesia | 6.22 |
| Not ranked | Egypt | 5.52 |
| Not ranked | UAE | 5.38 |
| Not ranked | Uzbekistan (printed “UZB”) | 4.28 |
| Not ranked | Nigeria | 4.23 |
| Not ranked | Oman | 4.18 |
| Not ranked | Argentina | 4.02 |
| Not ranked | Mexico | 3.44 |
| Not ranked | UK | 3.34 |
| Not ranked | India | 3.06 |
| Not ranked | Brazil | 2.27 |
| Not ranked | Libya | 1.58 |
Some countries are shaded but not labelled, so the labelled figures add up to 349.4, about 89% of the world total (our arithmetic). Footer: “Source: Energy Institute. Research and visualization: Ehsan Soltani. www.econovis.net, @econovisuals.”
Where the gas comes from
Production is concentrated in a few regions. The US and Canada together made 118.58 billion cubic feet per day on this map, and the five Middle Eastern producers labelled (Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman) 62.46, about 16% of the world total (our arithmetic). In Africa only Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Libya carry labels.
Inside the United States, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that five states produced about 70% of the country’s dry natural gas in 2022: Texas (24.6%), Pennsylvania (21.8%), Louisiana (9.9%), West Virginia (7.4%) and Oklahoma (6.7%) [4]. EIA puts US dry gas production in 2022 at about 96.60 billion cubic feet per day, a record at the time, and says most of the growth since 2005 came from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in shale and other tight rock [4].
Converting the units
Billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) is the unit US agencies use. Over a year, the world figure of 392.7 Bcf/d comes to about 143 trillion cubic feet, or roughly 4,060 billion cubic metres (our conversion, at 35.3147 cubic feet per cubic metre). Newer data from OPEC, quoted by Wikipedia, put world marketed production at 4.34 trillion cubic metres in 2025, with the United States at 26% [5].
Notes on this infographic
- Malaysia is misspelt “Malysia” on the map.
- Malaysia (7.84) and Turkmenistan (7.38) are labelled but not numbered, as they fall just below tenth-placed Algeria (9.82).
- The Energy Institute’s main data product is its annual Statistical Review of World Energy, which covers natural gas production by country [2]. Definitions of production differ between sources (marketed, dry or gross), so figures from EIA or OPEC will not match exactly.
- Data date: 2023. The creator’s blog post of the map is dated 3 January 2025 [1].
Questions about global natural gas production
How much natural gas is in the world?
EIA estimates total world proved reserves at 7,299 trillion cubic feet as of 1 January 2021 [3]. Proved reserves are the amounts that geological and engineering data show can be recovered with reasonable certainty under current economic and operating conditions [3].
Where is natural gas found in the world?
On this map, the largest producers are the United States, Russia, Iran, China and Canada, with major output across the Middle East [1]. Gas is produced from onshore and offshore wells and from coal beds; in the United States most growth has come from shale and other tight rock formations [4].
Which country produces the most natural gas?
The United States, with 100.17 billion cubic feet per day in 2023, about a quarter (25.5%) of the world total of 392.7. That is about 1.8 times second-placed Russia (56.73). Iran (24.35), China (22.67) and Canada (18.41) complete the top five, according to the graphic's Energy Institute data.
Which US state produces the most natural gas?
Texas produced 24.6% of US dry natural gas in 2022, the largest share of any state, according to the US Energy Information Administration [4]. Pennsylvania (21.8%), Louisiana (9.9%), West Virginia (7.4%) and Oklahoma (6.7%) follow, and the five together produced about 70% [4]. EIA puts US dry gas production in 2022 at about 96.60 billion cubic feet per day [4].
Sources
- Econovis, Global Natural Gas Production (2023), 3 January 2025. The creator’s original post of this map.
- Energy Institute, Statistical Review of World Energy. Data source named on the graphic.
- US Energy Information Administration, How much natural gas is there in the world?.
- US Energy Information Administration, Where our natural gas comes from.
- Wikipedia, List of countries by natural gas production.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
