Green
Which Countries Pollute the Most Ocean Plastic Waste?
Article/Editing:
Visualized: Ocean Plastic Waste Pollution By Country
Millions of metric tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year. While half of this plastic waste is recycled, incinerated, or discarded into landfills, a significant portion of what remains eventually ends up in our oceans.
In fact, many pieces of ocean plastic waste have come together to create a vortex of plastic waste thrice the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.
Where does all of this plastic come from? In this graphic, Louis Lugas Wicaksono used data from a research paper by Lourens J.J. Meijer and team to highlight the top 10 countries emitting plastic pollutants in the waters surrounding them.
Plastic’s Ocean Voyage
First, let’s talk about how this plastic waste reaches the oceans in the first place.
Most of the plastic waste found in the deep blue waters comes from the litter in parks, beaches, or along the storm drains lining our streets. These bits of plastic waste are carried into our drains, streams, and rivers by wind and rainwater runoff.
The rivers then turn into plastic superhighways, transporting the plastic to the oceans.
A large additional chunk of ocean plastic comes from damaged fishing nets or ghost nets that are directly discarded into the high seas.
Countries Feeding the Plastic Problem
Some might think that the countries producing or consuming the most plastic are the ones that pollute the oceans the most. But that’s not true.
According to the study, countries with a smaller geographical area, longer coastlines, high rainfall, and poor waste management systems are more likely to wash plastics into the sea.
For example, China generates 10 times the plastic waste that Malaysia does. However, 9% of Malaysia’s total plastic waste is estimated to reach the ocean, in comparison to China’s 0.6%.
| Rank | Country | Annual Ocean Plastic Waste (Metric tons) |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 356,371 |
| #2 | 🇮🇳 India | 126,513 |
| #3 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 73,098 |
| #4 | 🇨🇳 China | 70,707 |
| #5 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 56,333 |
| #6 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 40,000 |
| #7 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 37,799 |
| #8 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 28,221 |
| #9 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 24,640 |
| #10 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 22,806 |
| 🌐 Rest of the World | 176,012 | |
| Total | 1,012,500 |
The Philippines—an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, with a 36,289 kilometer coastline and 4,820 plastic emitting rivers—is estimated to emit 35% of the ocean’s plastic.
In addition to the Philippines, over 75% of the accumulated plastic in the ocean is reported to come from the mismanaged waste in Asian countries including India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
The only non-Asian country to make it to this top 10 list, with 1,240 rivers including the Amazon, is Brazil.
The Path to a Plastic-free Ocean
The first, and most obvious, way to reduce plastic accumulation is to reduce the use of plastic. Lesser production equals lesser waste.
The second step is managing the plastic waste generated, and this is where the challenge lies.
Many high-income countries generate high amounts of plastic waste, but are either better at processing it or exporting it to other countries. Meanwhile, many of the middle-income and low-income countries that both demand plastics and receive bulk exports have yet to develop the infrastructure needed to process it.
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
Mapped: Global Hydrogen Production by Region
We map global hydrogren by region, and also break production down into blue vs. green hydrogen types.
Blue and Green Hydrogen Production by Region in 2023
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Hydrogen production is becoming increasingly important for decarbonization efforts as it offers a clean and versatile alternative to fossil fuels, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In this visualization, we map the total kilotons of hydrogen produced by each region in 2023, broken down by blue and green hydrogen.
Hydrogen production data comes from Energy Institute’s 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy report.
Blue and Green Hydrogen Explained
Hydrogen doesn’t exist freely in nature and must be produced from other energy sources, making it an energy carrier rather than an energy source.
As a clean-burning fuel, hydrogen generates heat and electricity when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, producing only water vapor as a by-product.
Blue hydrogen production involves generating hydrogen from natural gas and steam, with carbon capture technology used to capture the resulting carbon emissions.
Green hydrogen production uses renewable energy to power electrolysis, a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, resulting in no carbon emissions.
Along with blue and green hydrogen, there are a few other “colors” of hydrogen that denote differences in their production processes and energy sources.
Blue Hydrogen Dominates Global Production
Blue hydrogen production is currently much more prevalent than green hydrogen because it leverages existing natural gas infrastructure, making it easier and more cost-effective to produce compared to green hydrogen.
As a result, the world produced significantly more blue hydrogen than green hydrogen in 2023, with 4,687.3 kilotons of blue hydrogen produced and only 147.6 kilotons of green hydrogen produced.
| Region | Blue hydrogen production in 2023 (kilotons) | Green hydrogen production in 2023 (kilotons) | Total hydrogen production in 2023 (kilotons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 2,091.6 | 19.4 | 2,111.0 |
| South and Central America | 0 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Europe | 44.1 | 31.6 | 75.8 |
| Middle East | 621.9 | 0.1 | 622.0 |
| Africa | - | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Asia Pacific | 1,929.7 | 93.6 | 2,023.3 |
| World Totals | 4,687.3 | 147.6 | 4,834.9 |
Green hydrogen is expensive primarily due to the high costs of renewable energy needed for electrolysis and the current inefficiencies in the technology. Additionally, the electrolysis process itself is energy-intensive, contributing to overall costs.
North America and the Asia Pacific regions are neck and neck when it comes to blue hydrogen production, both producing around 2,000 kilotons as of 2023. However, Asia Pacific is ahead in the green hydrogen race with 93.6 kilotons, far more than any other region.
China is scaling up green hydrogen production significantly. Sinopec, a Chinese oil and gas company, has made multiple billion-dollar investments into green hydrogen projects in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.
In 2024, Japan-based Mitsubishi Corporation announced plans to invest $690 million in partnership with Dutch renewable energy company Eneco to develop the Eneco Electrolyzer, the world’s largest green hydrogen production plant in the Netherlands.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
To learn more about regional energy production over time, check out this graphic that shows the growth of renewable energy capacity over time by region.
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