Data for 2016

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2016

Figures for 2016, as Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2016 covers 220 countries on 4 measures. Qatar is highest, at 82.0; Greenland is lowest, at 1.7. The middle country reads 16.0. Against 2015, 213 values changed (83 up, 130 down), the same countries are covered.

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PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure · Data for 2016

HighestQatar

82.0

LowestGreenland

1.7

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end. A higher value is the worse result.

220countries
4measures per country
2016the year it describes
167distinct values1 decimal, as published
Sep 29, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2016, as published. Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 220 countries · select a heading to sort

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2016: every country, as published by Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis.
derived
1	QatarQATWestern Asia	82.0	94.6	100.0	99.9
2	NigerNERWestern Africa	64.0	58.1	100.0	99.9
3	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	62.5	57.3	100.0	98.6
4	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	58.4	46.0	100.0	92.1
5	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	56.2	43.5	100.0	79.3
6	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	55.5	52.0	100.0	100.0
7	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	55.2	44.2	100.0	76.5
=8	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	54.6	60.9	100.0	97.6
=8	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	54.6	35.2	100.0	93.5
10	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	51.6	53.2	100.0	76.2
11	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	47.3	37.3	100.0	93.0
12	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	47.2	47.5	100.0	97.3
13	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	47.0	54.0	100.0	98.5
14	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	46.6	52.7	100.0	87.7
15	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	46.4	29.2	100.0	69.4
16	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	44.7	34.4	100.0	62.0
17	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	44.0	51.3	100.0	62.5
18	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	43.3	41.1	100.0	99.9
19	MaliMLIWestern Africa	41.3	41.1	100.0	88.1
20	IraqIRQWestern Asia	39.1	36.1	100.0	65.4
21	OmanOMNWestern Asia	38.7	41.1	100.0	76.2
22	TogoTGOWestern Africa	38.3	36.6	100.0	69.1
23	SenegalSENWestern Africa	37.9	38.0	100.0	62.7
24	BeninBENWestern Africa	37.7	39.9	100.0	65.7
25	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	37.2	32.5	100.0	46.9
26	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	36.3	35.4	100.0	48.6
27	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	34.9	28.5	100.0	32.7
28	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	34.7	34.4	100.0	42.4
=29	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	33.7	32.8	100.0	45.8
=29	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	33.7	33.6	100.0	41.0
31	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	33.0	31.2	100.0	19.1
32	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	32.8	31.8	100.0	47.0
33	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	32.4	31.0	100.0	31.3
=34	IranIRNSouthern Asia	32.0	34.0	100.0	25.2
=34	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	32.0	28.0	100.0	24.4
36	GuineaGINWestern Africa	31.8	30.3	100.0	22.4
37	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	30.5	18.6	100.0	36.1
38	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	30.4	28.2	100.0	16.6
39	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	30.1	23.4	100.0	28.9
40	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	29.6	28.4	100.0	2.4
41	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	29.2	27.1	100.0	10.7
42	YemenYEMWestern Asia	29.0	29.3	100.0	14.5
=43	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	28.6	30.2	100.0	15.4
=43	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	28.6	24.5	100.0	7.3
45	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	28.5	26.2	100.0	29.2
46	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	28.4	29.1	100.0	15.4
=47	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	27.8	23.9	100.0	13.9
=47	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	27.8	28.1	100.0	7.9
49	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	27.7	25.0	100.0	0.8
50	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	27.4	21.6	100.0	11.2
51	JordanJORWestern Asia	27.0	25.8	100.0	13.7
=52	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	26.4	17.8	100.0	33.9
=52	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	26.4	25.7	100.0	9.7
=54	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	26.1	24.2	100.0	0.9
=54	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	26.1	19.1	100.0	27.4
56	EritreaERIEastern Africa	26.0	26.8	100.0	6.6
57	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	25.8	23.4	100.0	14.0
58	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	25.6	23.0	100.0	0.7
59	GabonGABMiddle Africa	24.9	24.2	100.0	0.7
60	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	24.8	21.0	100.0	3.6
61	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	24.7	25.7	100.0	0.1
62	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	24.3	20.9	100.0	6.5
63	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	24.2	24.3	100.0	0.0
64	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	23.8	13.1	100.0	15.3
=65	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	23.1	20.2	100.0	6.3
=65	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	23.1	27.6	100.0	2.6
67	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	22.9	22.7	100.0	0.4
68	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	22.6	19.2	100.0	12.0
69	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	22.5	19.0	100.0	0.1
70	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	22.3	21.5	100.0	1.5
71	ChileCHLSouth America	21.7	17.4	99.9	0.2
=72	BoliviaBOLSouth America	21.5	20.7	100.0	0.0
=72	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	21.5	21.9	99.8	1.4
74	HondurasHNDCentral America	21.3	16.8	100.0	0.0
75	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	21.1	14.7	100.0	16.1
76	KosovoXKXSouthern Europe	20.9	20.1	100.0	0.0
77	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	20.8	19.4	100.0	0.0
=78	PolandPOLEastern Europe	20.3	18.2	100.0	0.0
=78	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	20.3	18.5	100.0	0.4
=80	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	20.2	20.2	100.0	2.0
=80	VenezuelaVENSouth America	20.2	17.1	100.0	0.0
82	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	19.5	19.4	100.0	0.0
83	IsraelISRWestern Asia	19.4	22.9	100.0	0.2
=84	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	19.0	17.8	100.0	0.1
=84	KenyaKENEastern Africa	19.0	13.8	100.0	0.0
=86	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	18.8	14.2	100.0	3.7
=86	PeruPERSouth America	18.8	17.7	100.0	7.7
88	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	18.6	14.1	100.0	0.0
89	EcuadorECUSouth America	18.4	17.4	100.0	0.0
90	ColombiaCOLSouth America	18.2	18.3	99.9	0.0
91	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	18.1	16.9	100.0	0.0
=92	Costa RicaCRICentral America	18.0	16.9	100.0	0.0
=92	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	18.0	15.5	100.0	0.0
=92	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	18.0	16.5	100.0	0.0
95	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	17.9	13.1	100.0	4.5
96	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	17.7	12.8	100.0	0.4
=97	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	17.3	16.5	100.0	0.0
=97	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	17.3	16.3	100.0	0.0
=97	Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe	17.3	17.3	100.0	0.0
=100	MexicoMEXCentral America	17.1	9.8	99.7	0.0
=100	NicaraguaNICCentral America	17.1	14.9	100.0	0.0
=100	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	17.1	17.5	100.0	0.0
103	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	17.0	17.8	100.0	0.0
104	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	16.9	16.1	100.0	0.0
105	PanamaPANCentral America	16.6	15.7	100.0	0.0
106	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	16.5	14.3	100.0	0.0
107	SurinameSURSouth America	16.4	13.9	100.0	0.0
108	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	16.2	15.0	100.0	0.0
=109	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	16.1	12.1	100.0	0.0
=109	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	16.1	13.3	100.0	0.0
=111	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	15.9	14.8	100.0	0.0
=111	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	15.9	16.6	100.0	0.0
=113	ItalyITASouthern Europe	15.8	12.6	100.0	0.0
=113	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	15.8	18.0	100.0	0.0
=113	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	15.8	23.7	100.0	2.8
116	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	15.6	14.1	100.0	0.0
117	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	15.5	15.2	100.0	0.0
=118	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	15.2	15.1	100.0	0.0
=118	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	15.2	13.7	100.0	0.0
120	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	14.9	15.2	100.0	0.0
121	UkraineUKREastern Europe	14.8	13.6	100.0	0.0
122	ParaguayPRYSouth America	14.7	14.9	100.0	0.0
123	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	14.5	28.5	100.0	2.1
=124	GuyanaGUYSouth America	14.4	14.5	100.0	0.0
=124	Northern CyprusXNCWestern Asia	14.4	14.3	100.0	0.0
126	BrazilBRASouth America	14.3	16.3	100.0	0.0
127	BelarusBLREastern Europe	14.2	13.0	100.0	0.0
=128	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	14.1	12.4	100.0	0.2
=128	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	14.1	14.4	100.0	0.1
=130	HaitiHTICaribbean	14.0	12.2	100.0	0.0
=130	JapanJPNEastern Asia	14.0	12.5	100.0	0.0
=130	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	14.0	14.7	100.0	0.0
=133	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	13.9	12.5	100.0	0.0
=133	San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe	13.9	13.6	100.0	0.0
=135	ArgentinaARGSouth America	13.7	14.4	100.0	0.1
=135	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	13.7	9.1	98.5	0.0
=137	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	13.6	9.7	100.0	0.0
=137	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	13.6	13.5	100.0	0.0
=139	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	13.2	10.8	99.7	0.0
=139	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	13.2	13.5	100.0	0.0
141	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	13.1	12.3	100.0	0.0
142	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	12.9	12.1	100.0	0.0
143	ArubaABWCaribbean	12.8	12.4	100.0	0.0
144	UruguayURYSouth America	12.5	10.1	100.0	0.0
=145	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	12.3	11.8	100.0	0.0
=145	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	12.3	11.5	100.0	0.0
=145	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	12.3	11.5	99.8	0.0
148	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	12.2	11.7	100.0	0.0
=149	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	12.1	10.9	100.0	0.0
=149	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	12.1	11.2	100.0	0.0
=151	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	12.0	11.3	100.0	0.0
=151	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	12.0	13.6	100.0	0.0
=153	GrenadaGRDCaribbean	11.7	11.4	100.0	0.0
=153	MonacoMCOWestern Europe	11.7	11.8	100.0	0.0
155	BelizeBLZCentral America	11.4	11.9	100.0	0.0
156	FranceFRAWestern Europe	11.0	9.1	99.9	0.0
=157	Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean	10.9	10.0	100.0	0.0
=157	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	10.9	9.9	100.0	0.0
=157	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	10.9	11.1	97.0	0.0
160	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	10.8	8.9	96.8	3.0
161	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	10.5	8.2	99.6	0.0
162	CubaCUBCaribbean	10.4	8.8	100.0	0.0
163	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	10.2	7.9	99.9	0.0
=164	GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe	10.1	10.2	100.0	0.0
=164	SpainESPSouthern Europe	10.1	8.2	99.9	0.0
166	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	10.0	9.9	100.0	0.0
167	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	9.9	8.8	100.0	0.0
168	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	9.6	9.0	100.0	0.0
=169	CuraçaoCUWCaribbean	9.5	10.7	100.0	0.0
=169	DominicaDMACaribbean	9.5	9.3	100.0	0.0
=169	LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe	9.5	9.0	100.0	0.0
=169	Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean	9.5	9.3	100.0	0.0
173	Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean	9.4	9.2	100.0	0.0
174	Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean	9.3	9.3	100.0	0.0
175	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	9.2	7.9	96.8	0.0
=176	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	9.1	8.5	100.0	0.0
=176	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	9.1	7.3	89.5	0.0
178	Saint MartinMAFCaribbean	8.8	8.7	100.0	0.0
179	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	8.4	8.2	100.0	0.0
180	MontserratMSRCaribbean	8.3	8.6	100.0	0.0
181	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	8.0	7.4	99.9	0.0
182	AnguillaAIACaribbean	7.9	8.0	100.0	0.0
183	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	7.5	7.3	98.6	0.0
184	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	7.4	6.8	99.5	0.0
185	United StatesUSANorthern America	7.3	4.8	92.3	0.0
186	Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe	7.0	6.5	100.0	0.0
187	British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean	6.9	7.0	100.0	0.0
=188	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	6.3	5.7	99.0	0.0
=188	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	6.3	6.1	99.0	0.0
=188	Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean	6.3	6.0	94.6	0.0
191	BahamasBHSCaribbean	6.2	6.3	94.7	0.0
=192	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	6.1	5.8	97.0	0.0
=192	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	6.1	6.1	100.0	0.0
194	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	6.0	3.6	80.7	0.0
195	CanadaCANNorthern America	5.9	3.4	74.6	0.0
196	AndorraANDSouthern Europe	5.6	5.0	57.0	0.0
197	FijiFJIMelanesia	5.5	5.3	71.3	0.0
=198	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	5.4	3.7	49.3	0.0
=198	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	5.4	3.3	59.5	0.0
=200	BermudaBMUNorthern America	5.1	5.1	71.0	0.0
=200	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	5.1	4.8	47.7	0.0
=200	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	5.1	5.1	49.8	0.0
203	TongaTONPolynesia	5.0	4.8	43.6	0.0
204	SamoaWSMPolynesia	4.5	4.3	7.5	0.0
205	PalauPLWMicronesia	4.4	4.5	1.0	0.0
206	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	4.3	4.4	4.4	0.0
207	American SamoaASMPolynesia	4.0	3.9	0.0	0.0
208	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	3.9	3.4	8.9	0.0
209	Faroe IslandsFRONorthern Europe	3.7	3.6	0.0	0.0
=210	GuamGUMMicronesia	3.5	3.4	0.0	0.0
=210	NiueNIUPolynesia	3.5	3.5	0.0	0.0
=210	TuvaluTUVPolynesia	3.5	3.5	0.0	0.0
213	KiribatiKIRMicronesia	3.4	3.6	0.4	0.0
214	NauruNRUMicronesia	3.3	3.3	0.0	0.0
215	Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia	3.1	3.0	0.0	0.0
216	MicronesiaFSMMicronesia	2.9	2.9	0.0	0.0
217	Cook IslandsCOKPolynesia	2.8	2.9	0.0	0.0
=218	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	2.7	-1.5	0.0	0.0
=218	Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia	2.7	1.5	0.0	0.0
220	GreenlandGRLNorthern America	1.7	1.2	0.0	0.0

02In 2016

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1Qatar82.0
2Niger64.0
3Bangladesh62.5
4Pakistan58.4
5Saudi Arabia56.2

Lowest

220Greenland1.7
218French Polynesiashared2.7
218Marshall Islandsshared2.7
217Cook Islands2.8
216Micronesia2.9

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 16.0. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

PM2.5, geographic mean (µg/m³)
HighestQatar94.6
LowestFrench Polynesia-1.5
Middle country: 14.6
People at or above 5 µg/m³, the WHO guideline (%)
Highest169 share it
Lowest12 share it
Middle country: 100.0
People at or above 35 µg/m³, the WHO's first interim target (%)
HighestKuwait100.0
Lowest134 share it
Middle country: 0.0

032015 → 2016

Since 2015

What changed between 2015 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
213values changed, of 220 in both
83 · 130rose · fell
7unchanged

Rose most

Lesotho34.8 → 46.6+11.8
Tajikistan23.2 → 30.5+7.3
Afghanistan29.5 → 36.3+6.8
El Salvador20.0 → 25.6+5.6
Egypt49.3 → 54.6+5.3

Fell most

Singapore30.3 → 15.9−14.4
Sudan44.7 → 34.7−10.0
Niger73.1 → 64.0−9.1
Chad52.4 → 44.0−8.4
Malaysia26.3 → 18.6−7.7

Changes in value, not in places: a country’s place also moves when others do. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

167 distinct values among 220
Values are stored exactly as published, to 1 decimal. 4 countries share 9.5. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the worse result.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 220 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
220 rows · 8.0 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download pm25-exposure-2016-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group’s own file, on its own site.
e673hbmsl75gechxnrjotenel6k4hdfc

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0. Share, adapt and use commercially. Credit the publisher and say if you changed anything.

Cite this edition

Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis (2016). PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2016 [data set], describing 2016. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/pm25-exposure/2016

0626 held

Other years

‹ The year before
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2015
220 countries
The year after ›
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2017
220 countries
All of them
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure: every year
26 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions