Global plastic production 1950-2023

The worldwide production of plastics reached 413.8 million metric tons in 2023. The versatility of this group of materials accounts for the continued growth in production year after year. In tandem with that growth, the market value of plastics also continues to grow.

What plastics are and how they are made

Plastics are used in a wide variety of products and have displaced other materials – such as wood, metal, and glass – that were previously used for the applications that plastics now dominate. One of the main applications for plastics use is plastic packaging. The production of plastic requires four basic steps: the acquirement of raw material, synthesizing a basic polymer, compounding the polymer into a usable fraction, and lastly, molding or shaping the plastic.

Leading plastic producers

Asia was the largest plastics producer in the world in 2023. That year, the country accounted for 33 percent of global production. Over recent years, China produced an average of approximately nine million metric tons of plastic products each month. The rest of Asia ranks second worldwide in terms of plastic production, with a share of 19 percent in 2023.