High-carbon content, brittle, pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone. Common pig iron comprises about ninety-two percent iron, while the remaining eight percent is made is up of carbon, silicon, manganese, phosphorus, and sulfur.
When pig-iron is cooled slowly and the carbon settles out as graphite on the raw material, grey pig-iron is produced. The grey pig-iron is usually used as cast-iron whereas the white pig-iron is used for steel production.
The World Map of Pig Iron Producers shows a list of the major countries with highest production of pig iron. As the data in the map indicates, China is the largest producer of pig iron; in 2010 it produced 600 thousand metric tonnes of pig iron.
The second place was occupied by Japan with an annual production of 82,000 metric tonnes of pig iron.
Russia ranked third followed by India, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, United States, Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom.
About 98% of iron ore is used to produce pig iron. In 1992, China became and remains the leading producing country.
Pig iron was used as ballast on NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Major Producers of Pig Iron in world-2010
| Country | Production in Thousand Metric Tonnes |
| China | 600 |
| Japan | 82 |
| Russia | 47 |
| India | 39 |
| Brazil | 32 |
| South Korea | 31 |
| Germany | 29 |
| United States | 29 |
| Ukraine | 26 |
| France | 10 |
| United Kingdom | 7 |
| Other Countries | 67 |