The bar graph shows the volumes of global production over 5 years in 3 regions, measured in million tonnes. Overall, output in Asia followed a downward trajectory, despite a sharp rise at the end. In Europe, conversely, production grew notably before plummeting in the final year, compared to the rest of the world’s production volumes, which were progressively more significant.
Statistics for Asia showed that it was the leading producer in 1840 at a high of just over 50 million tonnes. After that, the figure steadily and drastically decreased to slightly over 20 million tonnes in 1960 and therefore marked the lowest figure at the time. In the final year, there was a recovery to over 40, which was the largest production figure in 2000 and also four-fifths of the original figure, equivalent to a 10-percent decline.
Unlike Asia, Europe recorded increasingly more production from 1840 to 1960. Over this timeframe, production levels rose from around 38 to about 49, the highest across the regions in 1960. Despite this growth, production volumes witnessed a considerable drop to below 30 and, as a result, became the lowest as of 2000.
The rest of the world, meanwhile, had a markedly different trend. In 1840, as little as 10 million tonnes of production was recorded in this region, and over the course of the ensuing decades, there was a slight fall and a pronounced increase to 30 million tonnes. Thus, this number was three times greater than the initial one.