The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world consumed 193 exajoules (EJ) of oil in 2024, up 0.8%—or 830,000 barrels per day—from 2023. That is a measure of global oil demand, not just gasoline sold for cars: oil also fuels aviation and shipping and serves as a raw material for chemicals and materials. IEA, Global Energy Review 2025.
What does “oil consumption” include?
In the IEA’s statistics, oil is a broad group of products and flows—not a synonym for motor gasoline. Its coverage includes crude oil, natural gas liquids, gasoline, diesel, residual fuel oil and other refined products, and tracks their use in transport, industry, other sectors and non-energy applications. IEA Oil Information data product.
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Two uses need to be kept distinct. Fuel is burned to deliver an energy service, such as moving a vehicle or ship. Feedstock is used as an input to make something else; petrochemical feedstocks become chemicals and materials, including polymers and synthetic fibres. Feedstock use is included in oil-demand discussions, but it is not the same as burning oil for energy at the point of use.
How much oil did the world use in 2024?
The IEA puts global oil demand at 193 EJ in 2024, 1.5 EJ higher than in 2023. It also expresses that annual increase as 830,000 barrels per day (kb/d). Oil demand grew even as oil’s share of total energy demand fell below 30% for the first time; the share is a ratio of oil to all energy demand, so its decline does not mean that the absolute amount of oil used fell. IEA, Global Energy Review 2025.
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The energy total and barrels-per-day rate are different ways of expressing the reported demand and its change. They should not be treated as a simple conversion for every oil product: product mix and conversion conventions matter.
What is oil used for beyond gasoline?
Transport fuels
Oil products power road transport as well as aviation and shipping. In 2024, road transport oil demand was flat, while aviation and shipping together accounted for all of the 1 EJ increase in transport oil consumption, according to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2025. That describes the change in transport use, not the share of all oil consumed by each mode. IEA, World Energy Outlook 2025.
Petrochemical feedstocks
Oil-derived feedstocks are inputs to petrochemical production. The resulting chemicals can be turned into products such as plastics and synthetic fibres. This use is important to the overall demand story because the feedstock is counted as oil demand even though it is not being burned as fuel.
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Other uses
The IEA’s statistical categories also include oil used in industry and other sectors, alongside transformation and energy-sector uses. The figures available here do not establish a complete, comparable percentage breakdown of total oil consumption across cars, planes, ships, petrochemicals, heating, electricity and other uses, so assigning precise global shares to those categories would overstate what these figures show. IEA Oil Information data product.
What drove recent oil-demand growth?
For the increase in 2024, chemical feedstocks and aviation each accounted for around half of oil-demand growth measured in energy terms. By volume, feedstocks represented a larger share—around 70%. These are shares of that year’s increase, not shares of all oil consumed. IEA, Global Energy Review 2025.
The five-year comparison shows why that distinction matters. Global oil consumption in 2024 was 1.3% above 2019, while petrochemical feedstock demand had risen by more than 12%. Nearly all of the net increase came from feedstocks; non-feedstock uses were virtually at their 2019 level, even though global GDP was about 14% higher. The IEA cites efficiency improvements, electric vehicles, high-speed rail and remote work as contributors to restraint in mobility-related oil use, not as a complete accounting of the causes. IEA, Global Energy Review 2025.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the IEA expect through 2030?
These figures are projections, not observed consumption. In its Oil 2025 outlook, the IEA projects global demand to rise by 2.5 million barrels per day from 2024 to 2030, reaching around 105.5 million barrels per day near decade’s end. It expects petrochemicals to become the main source of oil-demand growth from 2026. IEA, Oil 2025 executive summary.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe same outlook projects that producing polymers and synthetic fibres will require 18.4 million barrels per day of oil by 2030—more than one in every six barrels. This forecast concerns feedstock associated with those materials; it is not a measurement of today’s total oil use. IEA, Oil 2025 executive summary.
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