Economy

Ranked: World Carbon Emissions by Country

Published

2 months ago

May 22, 2025

Pallavi Rao

Graphics/Design:

Miranda Smith

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Use This Visualization

Visualized: Share of World Carbon Emissions by Country

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Key Takeaways

China accounts for 26.2% of world carbon emissions, while the U.S. is responsible for another 11.5%.
This was equivalent to 12.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide for China and 5.6 billion tCO₂e for the U.S. in 2022.
Most of the top 10 emitters are also the world’s most populous countries, barring Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.

This graphic breaks down the share of global carbon emissions by country, categorized into income groups.

Countries with a share below 0.4% are combined into the “other” group in each income category.

Data for this chart is sourced from Climate Watch for the year 2022—the latest available figures. Income group categorization uses the current World Bank classification system.

ℹ️ Income group classification is based off gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currencies. Upper and lower middle-income groups have been combined into one for this graphic.

Share of World Carbon Emissions by Country in 2022

Ranked first, China accounts for 26% of all global emissions, measured at 12.7 billion tCO₂e in 2022. For reference, China has a population of 1.4 billion people.

Rank	Country	ISO Code	Share of Total Emissions	Carbon Emissions (in million tCO₂e, 2022)
1	🇨🇳 China	CHN	26.16%	12,716
2	🇺🇸 U.S.	USA	11.53%	5,604
3	🇮🇳 India	IND	7.69%	3,737
4	🇷🇺 Russia	RUS	3.75%	1,821
5	🇧🇷 Brazil	BRA	3.16%	1,538
6	🇮🇩 Indonesia	IDN	3.15%	1,530
7	🇯🇵 Japan	JPN	2.15%	1,044
8	🇮🇷 Iran	IRN	2.06%	1,004
9	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	SAU	1.60%	775
10	🇨🇦 Canada	CAN	1.54%	750
11	🇨🇩 DRC	COD	1.44%	700
12	🇩🇪 Germany	DEU	1.43%	696
13	🇲🇽 Mexico	MEX	1.31%	637
14	🇰🇷 South Korea	KOR	1.29%	627
15	🇦🇺 Australia	AUS	1.18%	574
16	🇿🇦 South Africa	ZAF	1.09%	530
17	🇵🇰 Pakistan	PAK	1.04%	505
18	🇹🇷 Türkiye	TUR	1.02%	497
19	🇹🇭 Thailand	THA	0.96%	466
20	🇻🇳 Vietnam	VNM	0.93%	454
21	🇦🇷 Argentina	ARG	0.88%	429
22	🇬🇧 UK	GBR	0.85%	414
23	🇲🇾 Malaysia	MYS	0.80%	387
24	🇮🇹 Italy	ITA	0.76%	370
25	🇳🇬 Nigeria	NGA	0.73%	356
26	🇵🇱 Poland	POL	0.72%	348
27	🇪🇬 Egypt	EGY	0.69%	336
28	🇫🇷 France	FRA	0.68%	330
29	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	KAZ	0.68%	328
30	🇮🇶 Iraq	IRQ	0.63%	305
31	🇩🇿 Algeria	DZA	0.60%	293
32	🇨🇴 Colombia	COL	0.57%	279
33	🇪🇸 Spain	ESP	0.57%	275
34	🇻🇪 Venezuela	VEN	0.54%	264
35	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	BGD	0.52%	255
36	🇦🇪 UAE	ARE	0.52%	253
37	🇵🇭 Philippines	PHL	0.51%	247
38	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	TKM	0.44%	215
39	🇲🇲 Myanmar	MMR	0.43%	209
40	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	ETH	0.43%	209
41	🇵🇪 Peru	PER	0.41%	199
42	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	UZB	0.38%	187
43	🇹🇿 Tanzania	TZA	0.36%	176
44	🇺🇦 Ukraine	UKR	0.35%	169
45	🇳🇱 Netherlands	NLD	0.31%	153
46	🇰🇼 Kuwait	KWT	0.31%	149
47	🇧🇴 Bolivia	BOL	0.28%	136
48	🇦🇴 Angola	AGO	0.27%	134
49	🇨🇲 Cameroon	CMR	0.27%	131
50	🇸🇩 Sudan	SDN	0.26%	128
51	🇶🇦 Qatar	QAT	0.25%	122
52	🇹🇩 Chad	TCD	0.25%	119
53	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	ZWE	0.24%	117
54	🇲🇿 Mozambique	MOZ	0.24%	115
55	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	CZE	0.22%	106
56	🇴🇲 Oman	OMN	0.22%	106
57	🇪🇨 Ecuador	ECU	0.21%	103
58	🇱🇾 Libya	LBY	0.21%	102
59	🇿🇲 Zambia	ZMB	0.20%	96
60	🇵🇾 Paraguay	PRY	0.20%	95
61	🇧🇪 Belgium	BEL	0.19%	95
62	🇲🇦 Morocco	MAR	0.19%	92
63	🇮🇱 Israel	ISR	0.18%	89
64	🇰🇵 North Korea	PRK	0.18%	87
65	🇧🇾 Belarus	BLR	0.17%	84
66	🇲🇳 Mongolia	MNG	0.17%	82
67	🇰🇪 Kenya	KEN	0.17%	81
68	🇰🇭 Cambodia	KHM	0.16%	77
69	🇷🇴 Romania	ROU	0.16%	77
70	🇬🇷 Greece	GRC	0.15%	72
71	🇸🇬 Singapore	SGP	0.14%	70
72	🇳🇿 New Zealand	NZL	0.14%	68
73	🇮🇪 Ireland	IRL	0.14%	67
74	🇸🇸 South Sudan	SSD	0.13%	64
75	🇦🇹 Austria	AUT	0.13%	63
76	🇷🇸 Serbia	SRB	0.13%	63
77	🇺🇬 Uganda	UGA	0.13%	61
78	🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	CIV	0.12%	61
79	🇫🇮 Finland	FIN	0.12%	60
80	🇧🇼 Botswana	BWA	0.12%	60
81	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	BFA	0.12%	59
82	🇭🇺 Hungary	HUN	0.12%	59
83	🇸🇾 Syria	SYR	0.12%	58
84	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	CAF	0.12%	58
85	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	AZE	0.12%	57
86	🇧🇭 Bahrain	BHR	0.12%	57
87	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	PNG	0.11%	55
88	🇵🇹 Portugal	PRT	0.11%	54
89	🇳🇵 Nepal	NPL	0.11%	53
90	🇳🇪 Niger	NER	0.11%	53
91	🇨🇱 Chile	CHL	0.11%	52
92	🇲🇱 Mali	MLI	0.10%	47
93	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	SLB	0.10%	46
94	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	DOM	0.09%	45
95	🇱🇦 Laos	LAO	0.09%	45
96	🇲🇬 Madagascar	MDG	0.09%	43
97	🇸🇴 Somalia	SOM	0.09%	43
98	🇬🇹 Guatemala	GTM	0.09%	43
99	🇬🇳 Guinea	GIN	0.09%	43
100	🇩🇰 Denmark	DNK	0.09%	43
101	🇨🇭 Switzerland	CHE	0.08%	41
102	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	NIC	0.08%	40
103	🇸🇳 Senegal	SEN	0.08%	39
104	🇹🇳 Tunisia	TUN	0.08%	39
105	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	LKA	0.08%	36
106	🇺🇾 Uruguay	URY	0.07%	36
107	🇯🇴 Jordan	JOR	0.07%	36
108	🇸🇰 Slovakia	SVK	0.07%	35
109	🇸🇪 Sweden	SWE	0.07%	34
110	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	AFG	0.07%	33
111	🇳🇴 Norway	NOR	0.06%	32
112	🇨🇬 Congo	COG	0.06%	31
113	🇨🇺 Cuba	CUB	0.06%	30
114	🇭🇳 Honduras	HND	0.06%	29
115	🇾🇪 Yemen	YEM	0.06%	28
116	🇧🇯 Benin	BEN	0.05%	26
117	🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	TTO	0.05%	24
118	🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	BIH	0.05%	24
119	🇵🇦 Panama	PAN	0.05%	24
120	🇱🇹 Lithuania	LTU	0.05%	24
121	🇳🇦 Namibia	NAM	0.05%	22
122	🇬🇦 Gabon	GAB	0.04%	22
123	🇲🇼 Malawi	MWI	0.04%	21
124	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	BGR	0.04%	20
125	🇬🇾 Guyana	GUY	0.04%	20
126	🇬🇪 Georgia	GEO	0.04%	19
127	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	TJK	0.04%	19
128	🇱🇧 Lebanon	LBN	0.04%	18
129	🇭🇷 Croatia	HRV	0.04%	18
130	🇬🇭 Ghana	GHA	0.04%	18
131	🇪🇪 Estonia	EST	0.04%	18
132	🇸🇮 Slovenia	SVN	0.03%	16
133	🇱🇷 Liberia	LBR	0.03%	15
134	🇸🇻 El Salvador	SLV	0.03%	14
135	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	KGZ	0.03%	14
136	🇲🇷 Mauritania	MRT	0.03%	14
137	🇸🇷 Suriname	SUR	0.03%	14
138	🇲🇩 Moldova	MDA	0.03%	13
139	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	GNQ	0.02%	12
140	🇭🇹 Haiti	HTI	0.02%	12
141	🇧🇳 Brunei	BRN	0.02%	12
142	🇱🇻 Latvia	LVA	0.02%	11
143	🇦🇲 Armenia	ARM	0.02%	11
144	🇹🇬 Togo	TGO	0.02%	11
145	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	MKD	0.02%	10
146	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	SLE	0.02%	10
147	🇷🇼 Rwanda	RWA	0.02%	10
148	🇯🇲 Jamaica	JAM	0.02%	9
149	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	CRI	0.02%	9
150	🇨🇾 Cyprus	CYP	0.02%	8
151	🇧🇮 Burundi	BDI	0.02%	8
152	🇦🇱 Albania	ALB	0.02%	8
153	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	LUX	0.02%	8
154	🇪🇷 Eritrea	ERI	0.01%	7
155	🇲🇺 Mauritius	MUS	0.01%	7
156	🇧🇿 Belize	BLZ	0.01%	7
157	🇹🇱 East Timor	TLS	0.01%	6
158	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	GNB	0.01%	4
159	🇱🇸 Lesotho	LSO	0.01%	4
160	🇲🇪 Montenegro	MNE	0.01%	4
161	🇧🇧 Barbados	BRB	0.01%	4
162	🇮🇸 Iceland	ISL	0.01%	3
163	🇸🇿 Eswatini	SWZ	0.01%	3
164	🇧🇸 Bahamas	BHS	0.01%	3
165	🇬🇲 Gambia	GMB	0.01%	3
166	🇲🇻 Maldives	MDV	0.01%	3
167	🇬🇩 Grenada	GRD	0.00%	2
168	🇲🇹 Malta	MLT	0.00%	2
169	🇩🇯 Djibouti	DJI	0.00%	2
170	🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	ATG	0.00%	2
171	🇸🇨 Seychelles	SYC	0.00%	1
172	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	LCA	0.00%	1
173	🇧🇹 Bhutan	BTN	0.00%	1
174	🇰🇲 Comoros	COM	0.00%	1
175	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	CPV	0.00%	1
176	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	VUT	0.00%	1
177	🇼🇸 Samoa	WSM	0.00%	1
178	🇦🇩 Andorra	AND	0.00%	1
179	🇸🇹 São Tomé & Principe	STP	0.00%	0.4
180	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	KNA	0.00%	0.4
181	🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	VCT	0.00%	0.3
182	🇹🇴 Tonga	TON	0.00%	0.3
183	🇵🇼 Palau	PLW	0.00%	0.2
184	🇩🇲 Dominica	DMA	0.00%	0.2
185	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	MHL	0.00%	0.2
186	🇫🇲 Micronesia	FSM	0.00%	0.2
187	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	LIE	0.00%	0.2
188	🇰🇮 Kiribati	KIR	0.00%	0.1
189	🇨🇰 Cook Islands	COK	0.00%	0.1
190	🇳🇷 Nauru	NRU	0.00%	0.1
191	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	TUV	0.00%	0.02
192	🇳🇺 Niue	NIU	0.00%	0.01
N/A	🌎 World	N/A	N/A	48,612

Meanwhile, at second place, the U.S. is responsible for another 11.5% of all emissions, with a population of 333 million people.

The two countries together account for 38% of the entire world’s emissions. This is slightly less than their share of the world economy (43%) and a lot more than their share of the world’s population (22%).

On a per capita basis, the U.S. produces almost double the emissions per person (14 tCO₂e) compared to China (8 tCO₂e).

Most of the top 10 emitters are also the world’s most populous countries, barring Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.

Developing Countries Are Driving Emissions Growth

Another obvious takeaway from the chart is how middle-income countries are responsible for the largest share of emissions.

Before we can go into the why, there is also some simple arithmetic at play. For one, more countries are in the middle-income distribution than high- or low-income categories.

And many of these middle-income countries have large, growing populations, which increases aggregate emissions.

However, it is also true that they are driving global carbon emissions growth. And this is because:

They are prioritizing economic development, leading to an overall increase in energy consumption (and related emissions).
Most emissions-heavy industries and manufacturing plants have moved from high-income countries to middle- and low-income ones.
Thus, high-income countries are able to sustain their consumption levels while the emissions from producing the goods they consume are accounted for elsewhere.

This last point is particularly crucial when it comes to emissions math. In fact, when accounting for these consumption-based emissions on a per capita basis, high-income countries are still responsible for a significant part of global carbon emissions.