Environment
Visualized: Air Quality and Pollution in 50 Capital Cities
Comparing Air Quality and Pollution in 50 Capital Cities
We know bad air quality when we breathe it in—but how does it measure and compare across different cities?
To assess air quality, agencies measure the amount of particulate matter in an area to arrive at a number the resident population is breathing in over a period of time.
In this case, Planet Anomaly visualized the concentration of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) in 50 select capital cities across the globe, using data from IQAir’s 2022 World Air Quality Report.
The report applied population-based adjustments to standardize its results and calculated an annual average of the data. If a city exceeded the WHO safety guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) for annual average PM2.5 levels, it implied potential health risks for its residents.
Ranked: Capital Cities With the Best and Worst Air Quality
At the top of the list with the best air quality, Canberra, the capital of Australia, had an average PM2.5 level of 2.8 μg/m³ in 2022. Vehicle emissions and dust storms are the few sources of air pollutants in the city.
However, while Canberra did well in 2022, it had some of the worst air quality in 2020 when bushfire smoke blackened the skies.
Here’s the full list of all 116 capital cities measured by IQAir’s report, ranked by air quality from best to worst.
Rank | City | Country | Region | 2022 Average PM2.5 Concentration |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canberra | 🇦🇺 Australia | Oceania | 2.8 |
2 | Hamilton | 🇧🇲 Bermuda | North America | 3.0 |
3 | Reykjavik | 🇮🇸 Iceland | Europe | 3.3 |
4 | San Juan | 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico | North America | 3.3 |
5 | Noumea | 🇳🇨 New Caledonia | Oceania | 3.5 |
6 | Saint George’s | 🇬🇩 Grenada | Central America | 3.8 |
7 | Tallinn | 🇪🇪 Estonia | Europe | 4.8 |
8 | Port of Spain | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | Central America | 5.0 |
9 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | Europe | 5.5 |
10 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Africa | 6.7 |
11 | Ottawa | 🇨🇦 Canada | North America | 6.8 |
12 | Stockholm | 🇸🇪 Sweden | Europe | 6.8 |
13 | Oslo | 🇳🇴 Norway | Europe | 6.9 |
14 | Paramaribo | 🇸🇷 Suriname | South America | 7.0 |
15 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Europe | 7.1 |
16 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | South America | 7.3 |
17 | Lisbon | 🇵🇹 Portugal | Europe | 7.5 |
18 | San Jose | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | Central America | 7.9 |
19 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | Asia | 8.3 |
20 | Vaduz | 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | Europe | 8.3 |
21 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | Europe | 8.7 |
22 | Luanda | 🇦🇴 Angola | Africa | 8.8 |
23 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | Central America | 8.9 |
24 | Panama | 🇵🇦 Panama | Central America | 9.0 |
25 | Tokyo | 🇯🇵 Japan | Asia | 9.2 |
26 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | Europe | 9.5 |
27 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | Europe | 9.5 |
28 | London | 🇬🇧 UK | Europe | 9.6 |
29 | Washington | 🇺🇸 U.S. | North America | 9.8 |
30 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | Asia | 9.9 |
31 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Europe | 10.1 |
32 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | Central America | 10.2 |
33 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | Europe | 10.5 |
34 | Bern | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Europe | 10.5 |
35 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | Europe | 10.6 |
36 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | Europe | 10.8 |
37 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | Europe | 11.2 |
38 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | South America | 11.3 |
39 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | Africa | 11.5 |
40 | Podgorica | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | Europe | 11.8 |
41 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | Europe | 11.9 |
42 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | 12.6 |
43 | Rome | 🇮🇹 Italy | Europe | 12.6 |
44 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | Europe | 12.7 |
45 | Georgetown | 🇬🇾 Guyana | South America | 12.7 |
46 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | Asia | 13.3 |
47 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | Central America | 13.4 |
48 | Bratislava | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | Europe | 13.4 |
49 | Pristina | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | Europe | 13.7 |
50 | Ankara | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | Asia | 14.0 |
51 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | South America | 14.2 |
52 | Hong Kong | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR | Asia | 14.4 |
53 | Tirana | 🇦🇱 Albania | Europe | 14.5 |
54 | Vilnius | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | Europe | 14.5 |
55 | Metro Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | Asia | 14.6 |
56 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | South America | 15.1 |
57 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | Europe | 15.3 |
58 | Kinshasa | 🇨🇩 DRC | Africa | 15.5 |
59 | Ljubljana | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | Europe | 16.2 |
60 | Tbilisi | 🇬🇪 Georgia | Europe | 16.3 |
61 | Nicosia | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Europe | 16.4 |
62 | Bucharest | 🇷🇴 Romania | Europe | 17.1 |
63 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Asia | 17.6 |
64 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | Africa | 17.8 |
65 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand | Asia | 18.0 |
66 | Seoul | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Asia | 18.3 |
67 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | Central America | 18.5 |
68 | Baku | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Asia | 18.9 |
69 | Sofia | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | Europe | 19.1 |
70 | Athens | 🇬🇷 Greece | Europe | 19.2 |
71 | Tel Aviv-Yafo | 🇮🇱 Israel | Middle East | 19.5 |
72 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | Africa | 20.4 |
73 | Colombo | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | Asia | 20.9 |
74 | Astana | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Asia | 21.4 |
75 | Ashgabat | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | Asia | 21.6 |
76 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 Mexico | North America | 22.1 |
77 | Belgrade | 🇷🇸 Serbia | Europe | 22.1 |
78 | Zagreb | 🇭🇷 Croatia | Europe | 22.4 |
79 | Abidjan | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | Africa | 22.5 |
80 | Chisinau | 🇲🇩 Moldova | Europe | 22.6 |
81 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | Africa | 23.7 |
82 | Yangon | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | Asia | 24.3 |
83 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | Africa | 24.6 |
84 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | South America | 25.6 |
85 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | South America | 25.8 |
86 | Skopje | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | Europe | 26.6 |
87 | Vientiane | 🇱🇦 Laos | Asia | 27.6 |
88 | Bishkek | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | Asia | 29.0 |
89 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China | Asia | 29.8 |
90 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | Africa | 30.1 |
91 | Ulaanbaatar | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | Asia | 30.6 |
92 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | Africa | 31.3 |
93 | Yerevan | 🇦🇲 Armenia | Asia | 31.4 |
94 | Sarajevo | 🇧🇦 Bosnia Herzegovina | Europe | 32.4 |
95 | Tashkent | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | Asia | 33.5 |
96 | Tehran | 🇮🇷 Iran | Asia | 36.1 |
97 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Asia | 36.2 |
98 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | Africa | 39.6 |
99 | Hanoi | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Asia | 40.1 |
100 | Islamabad | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Asia | 40.6 |
101 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal | Asia | 40.7 |
102 | Doha | 🇶🇦 Qatar | Middle East | 41.8 |
103 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | Africa | 44.0 |
104 | Khartoum | 🇸🇩 Sudan | Africa | 44.6 |
105 | Riyadh | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | Middle East | 46.2 |
106 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 46.5 |
107 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | Africa | 47.4 |
108 | Dushanbe | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | Asia | 47.7 |
109 | Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 UAE | Middle East | 48.0 |
110 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | Middle East | 57.5 |
111 | Ougadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | Africa | 63.0 |
112 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Asia | 65.8 |
113 | Manama | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | Middle East | 66.6 |
114 | Baghdad | 🇮🇶 Iraq | Asia | 86.7 |
115 | New Delhi | 🇮🇳 India | Asia | 89.1 |
116 | N’Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | Africa | 89.7 |
Hamilton, Bermuda (3.8 μg/m³) and Reykjavik, Iceland (3.3 μg/m³) rank second and third respectively, followed by three more capitals on island nations. In fact, nine of the top 10 capitals are situated directly on a coastline and take advantage of ocean breezes that can act as air filters.
Ranked 8th, the Port of Spain (capital of Trinidad & Tobago) is the last city whose air quality is considered safe (5.0 μg/m³) by the WHO.
From a broader perspective, fewer than 10% of all countries have air quality that meets safety guidelines.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the list with the worst air quality, Chad’s capital city N’Djamena, recorded a PM2.5 concentration of nearly 90 μg/m³ per day in 2022—almost 18x the recommended WHO safety guideline.
Air Quality Correlates With Countries’ Income Levels
Perhaps the most striking feature of the rankings is how air quality worsens with countries that are in the low and middle-income categories and improves in high income countries.
As an example, compare the distribution of the ranks of capital cities in Asia (generally lower and middle income countries) versus capitals in Europe (general high income countries).
Air Quality Ranks | Cities in Asia | Cities in Europe |
---|---|---|
Top 20 | 3.33% | 20.51% |
20–40 | 6.67% | 28.21% |
40–60 | 13.33% | 28.21% |
60–80 | 23.33% | 17.95% |
80–100 | 36.67% | 5.13% |
100–116 | 16.67% | 0.00% |
The majority of European capital cities are ranked 20–60 versus Asian capitals which are mostly ranked 60–100.
Lower and middle income countries have larger structural economic concerns and many of them are still in the process of transitioning away from polluting materials that affect air quality.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Green
Visualizing All the World’s Carbon Emissions by Country
China, India, and the U.S. together account for roughly half of the world’s CO₂. This visual breaks down all carbon emissions by country.

Visualizing All The World’s Carbon Emissions By Country
The greenhouse effect, essential for sustaining Earth’s life-friendly temperatures, has been intensified by burning fossil fuels.
This amplification of the natural greenhouse effect has led to significant alterations to the planet’s climate system.
The graphic above uses data from the Global Carbon Atlas to explore which countries contribute the most to CO₂ emissions.
Ranked: Global CO₂ Emissions by Country
According to the Global Carbon Atlas, the world’s top polluters are China, India, and the U.S., which accounted for 52% of the world’s CO₂ in 2021.
These countries are also the biggest in terms of population.
Rank | Country | Region | Total Emissions (%) |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇨🇳 China | Asia | 30.9% |
#2 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | North America | 13.5% |
#3 | 🇮🇳 India | Asia | 7.3% |
#4 | 🇷🇺 Russia | Europe | 4.7% |
#5 | 🇯🇵 Japan | Asia | 2.9% |
#6 | 🇮🇷 Iran | Asia | 2.0% |
#7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | 1.8% |
#8 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | Other | 1.8% |
#9 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Asia | 1.7% |
#10 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Asia | 1.7% |
#11 | 🇨🇦 Canada | North America | 1.5% |
#12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | South America | 1.3% |
#13 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | Europe | 1.2% |
#14 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Africa | 1.2% |
#15 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | North America | 1.1% |
#16 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Oceania | 1.1% |
#17 | 🇬🇧 UK | Europe | 0.9% |
#18 | 🇮🇹 Italy | Europe | 0.9% |
#19 | 🇵🇱 Poland | Europe | 0.9% |
n/a | 🌐 Rest of World | Other | 21.7% |
In terms of CO₂ emissions per capita (metric tons), the U.S. is relatively high at 15.32, while China and India rank lower at 7.44 and 1.89, respectively.
Historically, the U.S. has been the largest carbon emitter, releasing 422 billion metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. This is equivalent to almost a quarter of all CO₂ produced from fossil fuels and industrial activities.
Given their massive populations and the fact that countries typically increase their emissions as they become more developed, China and India may continue to grow their shares even further. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that India’s share of global emissions could rise to 10% by 2030.
All of these major contributors of carbon to the atmosphere have set goals to reduce emissions over the next decades. While the U.S. targets net-zero emissions by 2050, China aims for carbon neutrality by 2060 and India recently set a target of 2070.
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