Paper and paperboard — Capacity by country
The database contains data on pulp and paper production, pulp and paper production capacity, information about utilization of recovered paper, and short-term capacity forecasts for major pulp and paper producing countries. The main types of pulp included in this database are wood pulp (mechanical,...
What the numbers show
Paper and paperboard — Capacity is currently reported for 37 countries. The highest value is 69.47 million t in United States; the lowest is 83,000 t in Uruguay.
The median across all reporting countries is 6.10 million t, and the mean is 8.30 million t.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 837.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 11 fell. The largest increase was in Belarus (up 43.5%), and the largest decrease in New Zealand (down 74.4%).
Paper and paperboard — Capacity: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 69.47 million t | 2026 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 2 | Japan | 26.95 million t | 2026 | down 6.6% | falling |
| 3 | Germany | 22.04 million t | 2026 | down 7.0% | falling |
| 4 | Brazil | 15.05 million t | 2026 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 5 | Republic of Korea | 11.43 million t | 2026 | unchanged | flat |
| 6 | Russia | 10.77 million t | 2026 | up 4.6% | flat |
| 6 | Russian Federation | 10.77 million t | 2026 | up 4.6% | flat |
| 8 | Italy | 10.56 million t | 2026 | up 6.2% | flat |
| 9 | Sweden | 10.34 million t | 2026 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 10 | Finland | 10.08 million t | 2026 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 11 | Canada | 9.15 million t | 2026 | up 5.5% | flat |
| 12 | Vietnam | 9.10 million t | 2026 | — | flat |
| 12 | Viet Nam | 9.10 million t | 2026 | — | flat |
| 14 | France | 9.03 million t | 2026 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 15 | Mexico | 8.32 million t | 2026 | up 18.3% | rising |
| 16 | Spain | 8.04 million t | 2026 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 17 | Turkey | 7.80 million t | 2026 | — | rising |
| 17 | Türkiye | 7.80 million t | 2026 | — | rising |
| 19 | Thailand | 6.10 million t | 2026 | up 3.6% | flat |
| 20 | Austria | 5.30 million t | 2026 | down 5.2% | falling |
| 21 | Australia | 5.14 million t | 2026 | up 40.3% | rising |
| 22 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 4.16 million t | 2026 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 22 | United Kingdom | 4.16 million t | 2026 | down 1.8% | flat |
| 24 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 2.59 million t | 2026 | down 21.8% | falling |
| 25 | Portugal | 2.36 million t | 2026 | unchanged | flat |
| 26 | Belgium | 1.65 million t | 2026 | up 1.5% | falling |
| 27 | Philippines | 1.65 million t | 2026 | up 26.6% | rising |
| 28 | Bangladesh | 1.60 million t | 2026 | up 6.7% | flat |
| 29 | Colombia | 1.57 million t | 2026 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 30 | Chile | 1.08 million t | 2026 | down 3.7% | falling |
| 31 | Slovakia | 1.00 million t | 2026 | up 32.6% | rising |
| 32 | Hungary | 981,600 t | 2026 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 33 | Czechia | 965,000 t | 2026 | down 3.0% | flat |
| 34 | Belarus | 660,000 t | 2026 | up 43.5% | rising |
| 35 | New Zealand | 205,000 t | 2026 | down 74.4% | falling |
| 36 | Estonia | 85,000 t | 2026 | unchanged | flat |
| 37 | Uruguay | 83,000 t | 2026 | unchanged | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- United States of America 69.47 million t
About this data
The database contains data on pulp and paper production, pulp and paper production capacity, information about utilization of recovered paper, and short-term capacity forecasts for major pulp and paper producing countries. The main types of pulp included in this database are wood pulp (mechanical, thermo-mechanical, semi-chemical pulp, and chemical pulp), pulp of other fibre, and dissolving wood pulp. The main types of paper included in this database are graphic papers (newsprint, printing and writing paper) and other paper and paperboard. The latter is further subdivided into detailed categories of packaging paper and paperboard, household and sanitary paper, and other paper and paperboard not elsewhere specified. The database also provides information about consumption of recovered paper for paper and paperboard making domestically. Refer to this document for detailed definitions: https://www.fao.org/3/cc7461t/cc7461t.pdf#page=11