Cement Production by Country (1928 - 2023)

For two decades the Soviet Union out-poured America in cement, then China showed up and made more in 3 years than the U.S. did in the entire 20th century. A bar chart race of annual cement production by country from 1928 to 2023, tracking the world's top producers year by year. Watch the lead pass from the United States to the Soviet Union and finally to China, which today pours roughly 2,000 million tonnes a year — about half of all the cement made on Earth. Each bar is that year's output, not a running total. Key moments to look for: • 1928 — The United States starts as the runaway leader at 30.4 Mt, about four times Germany (7.7 Mt) in second place. • 1962 — The Soviet five-year plans pay off: the Soviet Union draws level with the U.S. (57.3 Mt vs 58.9 Mt), neck and neck for the #1 spot. • 1970s — The Soviet Union holds the world #1 cement crown for two decades (1964-1984), pouring concrete for cities and dams across the USSR. • 1985 — China overtakes everyone (~146 Mt vs the Soviet Union's ~131 Mt) and never gives up the lead again. • 2011-2013 — Staggering scale: in just three years China made more cement (6.73 Gt) than the United States produced in the entire 1900s. 📊 Data: Robbie M. Andrew, "Global CO₂ emissions from cement production" (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0) 📐 Annual cement production, in million tonnes (Mt) ───────────────────── 🎵 Music: "Helios" & "Discovery" by Scott Buckley — released under CC-BY 4.0 www.scottbuckley.com.au ───────────────────── The Variable — Data is the variable. Subscribe: @TheVariableData ───────────────────── #BarChartRace #Cement #Construction #DataVisualization #AnimatedStatistics