Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions Per Capita, by Country
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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.
Rank | Country | Continent | Per capita
consumption-based
CO₂ emissions (tCO₂) |
1 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | Asia | 27.7 |
2 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | Asia | 26.7 |
3 | 🇦🇪 UAE | Asia | 25.8 |
4 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | Asia | 24.5 |
5 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | Asia | 21.7 |
6 | 🇲🇹 Malta | Europe | 19.4 |
7 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | Asia | 17.3 |
8 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | Europe | 17.2 |
9 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | North America | 16.5 |
10 | 🇴🇲 Oman | Asia | 15.4 |
11 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | North America | 13.9 |
12 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | Europe | 13.7 |
13 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Europe | 13.7 |
14 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Asia | 13.3 |
15 | 🇨🇦 Canada | North America | 13.2 |
16 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Oceania | 13.1 |
17 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | Asia | 12.5 |
18 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | Asia | 12.3 |
19 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | Asia | 12.0 |
20 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | Asia | 10.5 |
21 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | Europe | 10.5 |
22 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | Europe | 10.4 |
23 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | 10.0 |
24 | 🇦🇹 Austria | Europe | 9.9 |
25 | 🇯🇵 Japan | Asia | 9.8 |
26 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | Europe | 9.8 |
27 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Europe | 9.4 |
28 | 🇷🇺 Russia | Europe/Asia | 9.4 |
29 | 🇫🇮 Finland | Europe | 9.3 |
30 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Europe | 9.3 |
31 | 🇮🇱 Israel | Asia | 8.7 |
32 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Asia | 8.5 |
33 | 🇵🇱 Poland | Europe | 8.3 |
34 | 🇳🇴 Norway | Europe | 8.3 |
35 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | Europe | 8.2 |
36 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | Europe | 8.0 |
37 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | Europe | 8.0 |
38 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Oceania | 8.0 |
39 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Asia | 7.7 |
40 | 🇬🇧 UK | Europe | 7.6 |
41 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | Europe | 7.6 |
42 | 🇮🇹 Italy | Europe | 7.3 |
43 | 🇨🇳 China | Asia | 7.2 |
44 | 🇮🇷 Iran | Asia | 7.0 |
45 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | Europe | 6.8 |
46 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | Europe | 6.5 |
47 | 🇫🇷 France | Europe | 6.4 |
48 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | Europe | 6.4 |
49 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | Europe | 5.9 |
50 | 🇪🇸 Spain | Europe | 5.7 |
51 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | Europe | 5.7 |
52 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Europe | 5.5 |
53 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Africa | 5.0 |
54 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | Europe/Asia | 5.0 |
55 | 🇬🇷 Greece | Europe | 4.9 |
56 | 🇨🇱 Chile | South America | 4.9 |
57 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | Europe | 4.8 |
58 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | Europe | 4.5 |
59 | 🇷🇴 Romania | Europe | 4.4 |
60 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | Africa | 4.4 |
61 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | Africa | 4.4 |
62 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | North America | 4.0 |
63 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | South America | 3.9 |
64 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | Asia | 3.9 |
65 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Asia | 3.8 |
66 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | Asia | 3.7 |
67 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | Africa | 3.6 |
68 | 🇵🇦 Panama | North America | 3.6 |
69 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | South America | 3.5 |
70 | 🇱🇦 Laos | Asia | 3.3 |
71 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | Asia | 2.8 |
72 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | Asia | 2.8 |
73 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | North America | 2.7 |
74 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | Asia | 2.7 |
75 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | Africa | 2.7 |
76 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | South America | 2.6 |
77 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | Asia | 2.5 |
78 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | North America | 2.5 |
79 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | Africa | 2.4 |
80 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | North America | 2.4 |
81 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Asia | 2.3 |
82 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Asia | 2.3 |
83 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | South America | 2.2 |
84 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | South America | 2.1 |
85 | 🇦🇱 Albania | Europe | 2.1 |
86 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | Africa | 2.1 |
87 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | South America | 2.0 |
88 | 🇵🇪 Peru | South America | 1.9 |
89 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | South America | 1.8 |
90 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | Asia | 1.8 |
91 | 🇮🇳 India | Asia | 1.7 |
92 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | Asia | 1.6 |
93 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | North America | 1.5 |
94 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | South America | 1.4 |
95 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | North America | 1.4 |
96 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | Asia | 1.4 |
97 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Asia | 1.1 |
98 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | North America | 1.0 |
99 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | Asia | 1.0 |
100 | 🇹🇬 Togo | Africa | 0.9 |
101 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | Africa | 0.9 |
102 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Asia | 0.9 |
103 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | North America | 0.9 |
104 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | Africa | 0.8 |
105 | 🇧🇯 Benin | Africa | 0.7 |
106 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | Africa | 0.6 |
107 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 0.6 |
108 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | Africa | 0.6 |
109 | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | Africa | 0.6 |
110 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | Africa | 0.5 |
111 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | Africa | 0.4 |
112 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | Africa | 0.4 |
113 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | Africa | 0.4 |
114 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | Africa | 0.3 |
115 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | Africa | 0.3 |
116 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | Africa | 0.2 |
117 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | Africa | 0.2 |
118 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | Africa | 0.2 |
119 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | Africa | 0.2 |
120 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | Africa | 0.2 |
N/A | 🌍 World | N/A | 4.7 |
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.