Introduction
Seven countries, led by China, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, produced two-thirds of the four most common types of plastics worldwide in 2024, according to a British environmental consulting firm, Eunomia, and the Zero Carbon Analytics research group.
Key Plastic Producers
The study, released during negotiations in Geneva among 184 countries aiming to draft the first global treaty to end plastic pollution, focuses on the production of four virgin polymer types:
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used in water bottles
- Polystyrene (PS)
China, with 34% of the production of these four resins, is by far the leading producer. The United States follows with 13%, and Saudi Arabia comes in third at 5%. South Korea, India, and Japan occupy the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions with 5%, 2%, and 2% respectively.
Among these top producers, Germany is the only European country, ranking tenth with 2% of the production of these four plastics in the past year.
Concentration Among Major Companies
Another study, slightly older and conducted by Wood Mackenzie, a provider of energy data, reveals that plastic production is also concentrated among a small number of large companies, some of which are state-owned.
According to this source, only 18 companies produced more than half of the world’s plastic polymers in 2021. The global top producer is the Chinese state-owned group Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation), which alone manufactures 5.4% of the world’s plastic.
- ExxonMobil (United States, petrochemical company) – 5%
- LyondellBasell (United States, chemical company) – 4.5%
- Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia, state-owned petroleum company) – 4.3%
- PetroChina (China, state-owned petroleum company) – 4.2%
Among the top producers, the first European companies are the British group Ineos (2.8%) in seventh place, the Austrian Borealis (2.3%) in tenth, and the French TotalEnergies (2%) in eleventh.
Key Questions and Answers
- Which seven countries are the major producers of plastics? China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India, Japan, and Germany.
- What are the four types of plastics included in this study? Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and Polystyrene (PS).
- How concentrated is plastic production among companies? Only 18 companies produced more than half of the world’s plastic polymers in 2021, with state-owned enterprises like Sinopec, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Saudi Aramco, and PetroChina dominating the market.
