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The People's Republic of China is the largest consumer of coal in the world, and is about to become...

The People's Republic of China is the largest consumer of coal in the world, and is about to become the largest user of coal-derived electicity, getting 1.95 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, or 68.7% of its electricity from coal as of 2006 (compared to 1.99 trillion kilowatt-hours per year, or 49% for the US). Hydroelectric power supplied another 20.7% of China's electricity needs in 2006. With approximately 13 percent of the world's proven reserves, China has enough coal to sustain its economic growth for a century or more even though demand is currently outpacing production. China's coal mining industry is the deadliest in the world and has the world's worst safety record where an average of 13 people die every day in the coal pits, compared to 30 per year for coal power in the United States. Coal production rose 8.1% in 2006 over the previous year, reaching 2.38 billion tons, and the nation's largest coal enterprises saw their profits exceed 67 billion yuan, or $8.75 billion. While China boasts the greatest use of coal power, it is third in the world in terms of total coal reserves behind the United States and Russia. Most reserves are located in the north and north-west of the