www.materialflows.net
Factsheet No. 3
in cooperation with Monika Dittrich
The online portal for material flow data
GLOBAL TRENDS OF MATERIAL USE AT A GLANCE
In the period from 1980 to 2009 the worldwide extraction of biotic and abiotic material increased
from 35 billion to 68 billion tonnes, an aggregated growth of almost 100 %. At the same time,
average per capita material consumption increased by about 25 %, from 7.9 tonnes in 1980
to 9.9 tonnes in 2009. Physical trade has been growing by 3 % annually. Absolute and per capita
material consumption, measured with the Domestic Material Consumption ( DMC ) indicator,
grew differently in the respective regions. While for developed regions such as Europe, DMC
levels remained rather constant over time, regions such as East Asia ( including China) grew
by almost 270 % in absolute terms and today already have a per capita consumption level similar
to European countries.
1
Monika Dittrich, Stefan Giljum,
Stephan Lutter, Christine Polzin:
Green economies around the
world ? Implications of resource
use for development and the
environment. Vienna. 2012.
adapted with new data
2
own calculations based on
(1) the global database on
resource extraction developed
and maintained by SERI and
(2) the global database on
resource trade developed and
maintained by Monika Dittrich
3
Monika Dittrich, Stefan Giljum,
Stephan Lutter, Christine Polzin:
Green economies around the
world ? Implications of resource
use for development and the
environment. Vienna. 2012
Global material extraction, consumption ( Domestic Material
Consumption ( DMC ) ) and trade have reached a level that
threatens the sustainable functioning of the earth’s ecosystems.
Data analyses show that global material extraction – which
equals global material consump-tion – grew by almost 100%
over the past 30 years 1.
From 1980 to 2009 global material extraction increased
by an annual average of 2.3 %. For the same period
physical trade has been growing by an annual average
of 3 %; average material consumption of a human being
increased by about 25 % 2 in the respective period.
In 2009, each human consumed around 10 tonnes of raw
materials. Further, non- renewable materials, such as fossil
fuels, metal ores and minerals already sum up to more than
70 % of total material extraction, with a rising trend 3.
The following Figure 1 illustrates material consumption
in absolute and per capita terms for different regions for
1980 and 2009.
SERI – Sustainable Europe Research Institute | Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
As indicated in Figure 1, absolute and per capita material
consumption grew differently in the respective world regions.
An increase of material consumption in absolute terms was
observable in almost all regions from 1980 to 2009. Central
Asia is an exception, as the collapse of the former Soviet
Union led to a decrease in material consumption in almost
all successor states.
Per capita consumption showed different trends from 1980
to 2009. On the one hand, several regions with growth
in material consumption can be identified. For instance,
in the period from 1980 to 2009 Eastern Asia (in particular
China) demonstrated the largest growth of absolute as well
as per capita material consumption with a rate of 400%
and 270 % respectively. In comparison, Oceania has
a growth in absolute material consumption of about 60%,
but the smallest growth rate of per capita material consumption (3%).
On the other hand, some regions showed a decrease in per
capita material consumption. Examples are North America
1
Factsheet No. 3
www.materialflows.net
in cooperation with Monika Dittrich
The online portal for material flow data
24.8
16.4
16.3
20.2
7.6
12.0
13.3
4.4
7.9
2.4
6.9
6.3
4.8
9.4
4.0
4.1
1.0
14.9
1.4 6.5
8.5
8.4
23.7
1.7
6.8
2.4
2.6
4.1
3.7
1.5
15.4
11.7
2.8
1.9 5.2
6.0
4.2
3.2 4.1
6.4
34.8
33.8
1
own calculations based on
(1) the global database on
resource extraction developed
and maintained by SERI and
(2) the global database on
resource trade developed and
maintained by Monika Dittrich
0.8
Absolute material consumption
Values indicate billion tonnes
Per capita material consumption
Values indicate tonnes per capita
1980
1.3
2009
Figure 1: Material consumption by regions in absolute and per capita terms 1980 and 2009 14
SERI – Sustainable Europe Research Institute | Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
2
www.materialflows.net
Factsheet No. 3
in cooperation with Monika Dittrich
The online portal for material flow data
( --19 % ), Europe ( --18 % ) and Sub-Sahara Africa ( --14 % ).
As indicated in Figure 1, in North America and Europe the
absolute material consumption increased only moderately,
while the per capita material consumption decreased.
This indicates that in these two regions the population grew
faster than material consumption. The development in the
region of Sub-Sahara Africa was even more accentuated;
the absolute material consumption increased by about
86 % for the respective period, while at the same time the
population grew even faster, resulting in a decrease in
per capita material consumption.
In 2009 large differences between regional per capita
material consumption could be observed. A human being
FACTSHEETS present core themes and approaches of the website www.materialflows.net.
SERI – Sustainable Europe Research Institute | Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
Contact
who lived in Oceania, the region with the highest per
capita consumption, consumed around 35 tonnes raw
materials in 2009. In contrast to Oceania, a human being
in Southern Asia, the region with the lowest per capita
material consumption, only consumed 4 tonnes raw materials
in 2009 – a difference of almost a factor 9. In Africa and
Asia per capita material consumption was below the global
average in 2009. Only since the mid 1990s increases
in per capita consumption have been observed in Asia and
Latin America. The decline in North American per capita
consumption over the past thirty years reflects, amongst other
things, the decrease in construction activities after 2005,
whereas the fluctuations in Oceania are mostly driven by
changes in raw material extractions in Australia.
SERI – Sustainable Europe Research Institute
Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
[email protected]
3