Connect with us

Maps

Mapped: Carbon Emissions Per Capita, by Country

Published

on

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

This map visualizes the countries above (red) or below (blue) the global average for per-capita consumption-based emissions, which is 4.7 tCO₂.

Use This Visualization

Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions Per Capita, by Country

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.

This map visualizes the countries above (red) or below (blue) the global average for per-capita consumption-based emissions, which is 4.7 tCO₂. Data is sourced from the Global Carbon Budget, accessed via Our World in Data, as of 2021.

The idea behind this map is to compare how the variance in consumption patterns can change how much each country’s average lifestyle affects the environment.

ℹ️ From the source: Consumption-based emissions attribute the emissions generated in the production of goods and services according to where they were consumed, rather than where they were produced.

What This Per Capita Emissions Map Tell Us

The map highlights the disparity between the Global North (North America, Europe, Oceania) and Global South (South America, Africa, Asia).

First used in the 1980s, these informal terms differentiate between, industrialized, economically developed, and wealthier nations, mostly located in the Northern Hemisphere, and the less-developed countries mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.

It’s since been adopted into climate discourse to highlight the divide in environmental responsibilities: the Global North contributes more to environmental degradation while the Global South faces greater climate impacts.

Ranked: Countries by Consumption-based per Capita Emissions

When doing a standard ranking, there are multiple outliers in the general Global North/South divide. For example, the top five countries with the highest consumption-based per capita emissions are all from Asia.

As it happens, four of the five are small, rich, oil producers.

RankCountryContinentPer capita
consumption-based
CO₂ emissions (tCO₂)
1🇸🇬 SingaporeAsia27.7
2🇶🇦 QatarAsia26.7
3🇦🇪 UAEAsia25.8
4🇰🇼 KuwaitAsia24.5
5🇧🇳 BruneiAsia21.7
6🇲🇹 MaltaEurope19.4
7🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAsia17.3
8🇧🇪 BelgiumEurope17.2
9🇺🇸 U.S.North America16.5
10🇴🇲 OmanAsia15.4
11🇹🇹 Trinidad & TobagoNorth America13.9
12🇱🇺 LuxembourgEurope13.7
13🇨🇭 SwitzerlandEurope13.7
14🇰🇷 South KoreaAsia13.3
15🇨🇦 CanadaNorth America13.2
16🇦🇺 AustraliaOceania13.1
17🇹🇼 TaiwanAsia12.5
18🇧🇭 BahrainAsia12.3
19🇭🇰 Hong KongAsia12.0
20🇲🇳 MongoliaAsia10.5
21🇪🇪 EstoniaEurope10.5
22🇨🇿 CzechiaEurope10.4
23🇩🇪 GermanyEurope10.0
24🇦🇹 AustriaEurope9.9
25🇯🇵 JapanAsia9.8
26🇸🇮 SloveniaEurope9.8
27🇳🇱 NetherlandsEurope9.4
28🇷🇺 RussiaEurope/Asia9.4
29🇫🇮 FinlandEurope9.3
30🇮🇪 IrelandEurope9.3
31🇮🇱 IsraelAsia8.7
32🇰🇿 KazakhstanAsia8.5
33🇵🇱 PolandEurope8.3
34🇳🇴 NorwayEurope8.3
35🇱🇻 LatviaEurope8.2
36🇱🇹 LithuaniaEurope8.0
37🇩🇰 DenmarkEurope8.0
38🇳🇿 New ZealandOceania8.0
39🇲🇾 MalaysiaAsia7.7
40🇬🇧 UKEurope7.6
41🇸🇰 SlovakiaEurope7.6
42🇮🇹 ItalyEurope7.3
43🇨🇳 ChinaAsia7.2
44🇮🇷 IranAsia7.0
45🇭🇺 HungaryEurope6.8
46🇸🇪 SwedenEurope6.5
47🇫🇷 FranceEurope6.4
48🇧🇾 BelarusEurope6.4
49🇧🇬 BulgariaEurope5.9
50🇪🇸 SpainEurope5.7
51🇭🇷 CroatiaEurope5.7
52🇨🇾 CyprusEurope5.5
53🇿🇦 South AfricaAfrica5.0
54🇹🇷 TurkeyEurope/Asia5.0
55🇬🇷 GreeceEurope4.9
56🇨🇱 ChileSouth America4.9
57🇵🇹 PortugalEurope4.8
58🇺🇦 UkraineEurope4.5
59🇷🇴 RomaniaEurope4.4
60🇲🇺 MauritiusAfrica4.4
61🇧🇼 BotswanaAfrica4.4
62🇲🇽 MexicoNorth America4.0
63🇦🇷 ArgentinaSouth America3.9
64🇹🇭 ThailandAsia3.9
65🇦🇿 AzerbaijanAsia3.8
66🇬🇪 GeorgiaAsia3.7
67🇳🇦 NamibiaAfrica3.6
68🇵🇦 PanamaNorth America3.6
69🇺🇾 UruguaySouth America3.5
70🇱🇦 LaosAsia3.3
71🇦🇲 ArmeniaAsia2.8
72🇰🇬 KyrgyzstanAsia2.8
73🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicNorth America2.7
74🇯🇴 JordanAsia2.7
75🇹🇳 TunisiaAfrica2.7
76🇪🇨 EcuadorSouth America2.6
77🇰🇭 CambodiaAsia2.5
78🇯🇲 JamaicaNorth America2.5
79🇪🇬 EgyptAfrica2.4
80🇨🇷 Costa RicaNorth America2.4
81🇻🇳 VietnamAsia2.3
82🇮🇩 IndonesiaAsia2.3
83🇧🇷 BrazilSouth America2.2
84🇵🇾 ParaguaySouth America2.1
85🇦🇱 AlbaniaEurope2.1
86🇲🇦 MoroccoAfrica2.1
87🇨🇴 ColombiaSouth America2.0
88🇵🇪 PeruSouth America1.9
89🇧🇴 BoliviaSouth America1.8
90🇱🇰 Sri LankaAsia1.8
91🇮🇳 IndiaAsia1.7
92🇵🇭 PhilippinesAsia1.6
93🇸🇻 El SalvadorNorth America1.5
94🇻🇪 VenezuelaSouth America1.4
95🇬🇹 GuatemalaNorth America1.4
96🇹🇯 TajikistanAsia1.4
97🇵🇰 PakistanAsia1.1
98🇳🇮 NicaraguaNorth America1.0
99🇳🇵 NepalAsia1.0
100🇹🇬 TogoAfrica0.9
101🇸🇳 SenegalAfrica0.9
102🇧🇩 BangladeshAsia0.9
103🇭🇳 HondurasNorth America0.9
104🇬🇭 GhanaAfrica0.8
105🇧🇯 BeninAfrica0.7
106🇰🇪 KenyaAfrica0.6
107🇳🇬 NigeriaAfrica0.6
108🇿🇼 ZimbabweAfrica0.6
109🇨🇮 Côte d'IvoireAfrica0.6
110🇬🇳 GuineaAfrica0.5
111🇲🇿 MozambiqueAfrica0.4
112🇨🇲 CameroonAfrica0.4
113🇿🇲 ZambiaAfrica0.4
114🇹🇿 TanzaniaAfrica0.3
115🇧🇫 Burkina FasoAfrica0.3
116🇲🇬 MadagascarAfrica0.2
117🇪🇹 EthiopiaAfrica0.2
118🇺🇬 UgandaAfrica0.2
119🇷🇼 RwandaAfrica0.2
120🇲🇼 MalawiAfrica0.2
N/A🌍 WorldN/A4.7

However, patterns do persist. For example, Ukraine, Romania and Albania are the only European countries below the average. And on the other hand, Chile and South Africa are the only South American and African countries above the average.

It’s worth noting that this map and article track and visualize a very specific metric, one that the source could not calculate for many countries.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Any per capita visualization usually prompts questions of total emissions and vice-versa. For reference, here’s Visualizing All the World’s Carbon Emissions by Country.

Click for Comments

Subscribe

Popular