Commodities
Commodities are the products of land, mines and wells before they are processed: wheat and coffee, cotton and timber, copper and lithium, oil and uranium. Pick one: who produces it, what it has cost over time, who processes it and where the reserves are.
Who produces it
On the map
Price over time
The average price of each year on international markets. “Real” removes the effect of inflation (in 2010 dollars): you can see whether a commodity has really become more expensive or cheaper.
Annual averages; real prices are divided by the World Bank MUV index (prices of exported manufactures, 2010 = 100). Sources: World Bank, Commodity Markets (Pink Sheet).
From raw material to product
Exporting is not producing: Switzerland, for example, exports roasted coffee and refined gold without growing coffee or having gold mines. Trade counts quantities, not value.
Reserves
Reserves are the known quantities that can be extracted profitably today. They change with prices and technology: they are not everything that lies underground.
Good to know
- Minerals and metals: the USGS lists only the main producers; the other countries are together under “other” and have no circle on the map. 2025 is an estimate.
- Exporting is not producing: Switzerland, for example, exports roasted coffee and refined gold without growing coffee or having gold mines. Trade counts quantities, not value.
- The same maps, together with food and fisheries, are also in Map.
Sources: FAO, FAOSTAT; FAO, FishStat (global production); U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026; U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics; United Nations, Energy Statistics Yearbook; OECD-NEA and IAEA, Uranium 2026 (Red Book); World Bank, Commodity Markets (Pink Sheet).