World production of ceramic tiles

Acimac/MECS Research Center Published in October the 13th edition of the annual study “World Production and Consumption of Ceramic Tiles

For the global ceramic tile industry and market, 2025 is expected to mark the first positive trend reversal after the previous three-year period, which was characterized by a contraction in both production and consumption volumes. While awaiting the preliminary figures for the current year, the Acimac/MECS Research Center published in October the 13th edition of the annual study “World Production and Consumption of Ceramic Tiles”, which provides a snapshot of sector performance up to 2024.

The study highlights how the continued general slowdown of the global economy, combined with ongoing international geopolitical tensions, has resulted in a further cooling of global tile demand and, consequently, in an additional decline in worldwide production volumes.

Photo courtesy of Casalgrande Padana

The trend of production by geographical macro-areas

Overall, world tile production fell to 14,950 million sqm in 2024, 6.2% down on the 15,937 million sqm in 2023. Although almost all regions experienced a decline in production, the vast majority of the 987 million sqm contraction occurred in Asia and North Africa.

Asia’s output fell 6.5%, from 11.6 to 10.9 billion sqm, equivalent to 72.8% of global production. China saw a contraction of 820 million sqm, partially offset by a recovery of more than 100 million sqm in Vietnam.

Europe produced 1,615 million sqm (10.9% of the world total). Thanks to a rebound in Spain, the European Union posted a modest 1.4% growth in output (from 1,039 to 1,054 million sqm), still far from offsetting the 18% contraction of 2023. Production in non-EU Europe dropped to 561 million sqm (-8.8%), largely due to a lower output in Turkey.

Production in the American continent also fell, dropping to 1,428 million sqm. North America saw a decline in output from 349 to 328 million sqm (-6%), while production in Central and South America slipped to 1,100 million sqm, a decrease of 2.1%.

Finally, production in Africa saw its first contraction after more than a decade of growth, dropping from 1,178 to 1,025 million sqm (-13%). This was attributable to the sharp decline in Egypt and, to a lesser extent, in Algeria, while output in the Sub-Saharan area maintained 2023 levels.

In general, the contraction in production volumes in 2024 reflected a market demand that remained stagnant. Last year, global tile consumption fell from 15,621 to 14,552 million sqm (-6.8%), although trends varied across different geographic areas. Consumption increased - again in this case - in the European Union, rising by 1% to 839 million sqm. There was a very slight decline in Central–South America (1,205 million sqm; -0.9%), North America (542 million sqm; -1.6%), and non-EU Europe (623 million sqm; -2%). The decrease was much more pronounced in Africa (1,227 million sqm; -14.3%) and, above all, in Asia, where demand fell from 10.9 to 10.0 billion sqm (-7.7%), accounting for 69% of global consumption.

Photo courtesy of Kaleseramik

China, India and Brazil lead the ranking of the largest ceramic tile producers

China, India, and Brazil have once again confirmed their positions at the top of the ranking of the world’s largest ceramic tile producing countries, although showing different trends.

China, the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of ceramic tiles, saw its production and sales decline in 2023 for the third consecutive year. According to the China Building and Sanitary Ceramics Association, lower domestic demand (5.3 billion sqm; down 13% on 2023) forced the industry to reduce its output to 5.9 billion sqm (-12.2% compared to 6.7 billion in 2023), against an installed capacity of 12.2 billion sqm. The number of active companies also declined, dropping from 1,022 to 938.

In 2024, India maintained its position as the world’s second largest tile producer and consumer, although domestic production fell by 2% to 2.4 billion sqm, reflecting a decline both in domestic consumption (1,620 million sqm; -4.7%) and in exports, which dropped (for the first time) from 589 to 525 million sqm (-10.9%).

The trend in Brazil moved in the opposite direction. The world’s third-largest producer and consumer country saw a 4% increase in production in 2024 to reach 825 million sqm, partially making up for the output lost in the previous two years, in parallel with a similar recovery in domestic sales (727 million sqm; +4.8%).

Among the main tile-producing countries, Vietnam stands out, having recovered much of the 2023 decline in 2024, bringing production back to 504 million sqm (+27%). It is followed by Iran with 450 million sqm, Spain (416 million sqm, up +5.6% compared to 2023), and Indonesia, where production fell by 1.4% to 407 million sqm and consumption dropped to 470 million sqm (-5%).

Italy ranked eighth among the largest producers, maintaining production at 2023 levels with 369.8 million sqm (-1%). In contrast, Turkey experienced a sharp decline, with production shrinking to 318 million sqm (-14.5%) due to a drop in domestic demand to 232 million sqm (-12%).

Photo courtesy of Ragno

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