Gokhan Yildiz and Emir Yildirim
30 July 2026•Update: 31 July 2026
- China dominates and India maintains 2nd place with steady growth in 2025, it adds
Türkiye's crude steel production reached 38.1 million metric tons last year, up from 36.9 million in 2024, making it the world's seventh-largest steel producer, according to the World Steel Association's latest report.
A spokesperson for the World Steel Association told Anadolu that Türkiye’s rise to the world’s seventh-largest steel producer in 2025 reflected the trend of growing steel production in emerging economies, while production in mature economies remained stagnant, with the trend expected to continue.
Veysel Yayan, secretary-general of the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), told Anadolu that although the Turkish steel sector experienced fluctuations, it surpassed Germany, highlighting the strength of its industrial infrastructure.
“Türkiye can grow steadily if it can keep imports under 19.5 million metric tons in the coming years, moving up a rank in the medium term — it may even surpass Russia or South Korea, as Türkiye is currently Europe’s largest steel producer,” he added.
Türkiye’s rising crude steel production was driven by a recovery in export markets, the efficient use of production capacity, and competitiveness-enhancing investments, alongside domestic demand.
The sector’s production and export performance is expected to be shaped by the recovery of the global economy.
China largest producer
China remained the world's largest steel producer, with 960.8 million metric tons of crude steel last year, although output declined from 1.0051 billion metric tons the previous year.
India retained second place, increasing crude steel production to 164.9 million metric tons from 149.4 million a year earlier.
“China is by far the world’s largest steel producer, so it doesn’t seem like it’ll lose that position, but India is steadily strengthening its second-place position with steadily growing output,” he said.
“India is projected to reach 350 million metric tons of crude steel by 2047, while China is being forced to reduce production due to stagnation and a slowdown in its construction sector, albeit by a small margin.”
Yayan noted that China is facing global backlash through protective measures, which may lead to gradually declining exports in the coming years, with production expected to continue to decline by 2% to 3% as infrastructure investments have largely been completed and the construction sector continues to contract.
He said China’s production could fall to around 800 million metric tons, while India could reach around 350 million.
Other market leader
The US overtook Japan to rank third with 80.7 million metric tons, followed by Russia at 67.9 million and South Korea at 62.2 million metric tons.
Germany ranked eighth, producing 34.1 million metric tons.
Brazil placed ninth with 33.4 million metric tons, followed by Iran with 32 million, rounding out the top 10.
Vietnam ranked 11th with 24.7 million metric tons, followed by Italy with 20.7 million and Indonesia with around 19 million metric tons.
Global crude steel production fell to 1.848 million metric tons in 2025, driven by a drop in China’s output, while production also decreased in major producers including Japan, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Mexico, Canada, France, and the UK.
However, some countries, such as Türkiye, India, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Australia, Portugal, and Qatar, increased their production.
