Major countries in silicon production 2010-2020

China is the world’s largest silicon producer, with a production volume estimated at 5.4 million metric tons in 2020. The second largest producer of this metalloid in the world is Russia, which produced 540,000 metric tons in the same year. The total global production of silicon on 2019 was an estimated eight million metric tons.

Silicon and silicon wafers

Silicon is a chemical element and a semiconductor that is economically important worldwide due to its industrial uses in steel refining, aluminum-casting, chemical processes, and perhaps as it is most widely known, in semiconductor electronics. Silicon wafers are thin slices of semiconductor that are used for the fabrication of integrated circuits, and to manufacture solar cells. In 2018, the global demand for silicon wafers is estimated to have been about 11.8 billion square inches. Silicon wafers are used in a variety of products, including mobile/smartphones, desktops, notebooks, industrial products, and other electronic products. Mobile/smartphones accounted for the largest demand overall. In 2018, the silicon wafer demand for mobile phones and smart phones was 21.9 billion square centimeters. Desktops, notebooks, and server PCs followed at 11.3 billion square centimeters.