Crude steel production in the Middle East rose 4.3pct YoY in 2025 to 56.9 mln tons, while Africa recorded 3.8pct growth to 23.2 mln tons, according to data from the World Steel Association.
Middle East output reached 5.3 mln tons in December, up nearly 14pct YoY. The regional data covers Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen. In Africa, December production edged down 0.3pct YoY to 1.9 mln tons, with coverage including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia.
Among major regional producers, Turkey, the world’s seventh-largest steelmaker, produced 38.1 mln tons in 2025, up 3.3pct , with December output rising 18.5pct to 3.5 mln tons. Iran, ranked tenth globally, posted 1.4pct growth to 31.8 mln tons, while December production rose 16.2pct to 3 mln tons.
Other regional producers showed mixed trends. Saudi Arabia produced 10.8 mln tons, up 12.3pct, while Egypt output slipped 0.8pct to 10.6 mln tons. Algeria recorded strong growth of 17.9pct to 5.3 mln tons, and the United Arab Emirates produced 3.8 mln tons, up 3.3pct. Pakistan, Iraq and Oman produced 3.6 mln tons (down 12.2pct), 3 mln tons (up 0.3pct) and 3 mln tons (flat), respectively.
Globally, crude steel production fell 2pct YoY in 2025 to around 1.8 bln tons, with December output down 3.7pct to 139.6 mln tons. China saw production decline 4.4pct to 960.8 mln tons, while India continued to outperform, producing 164.9 mln tons, up 10.4pct. Output in the United States rose 3.1pct to 82 mln tons, while Japan production fell 4pct to 80.7 mln tons.
