Data for 2023

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2023

Figures for 2023, as Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2023 covers 220 countries on 4 measures. Bangladesh is highest, at 68.2; Cook Islands is lowest, at 2.5. The middle country reads 14.5. Against 2022, 214 values changed (88 up, 126 down), the same countries are covered.

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PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure · Data for 2023

HighestBangladesh

68.2

LowestCook Islands

2.5

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
2023the year it describes
163distinct 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, 2023, 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, 2023: every country, as published by Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis.
derived
1	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	68.2	61.0	100.0	96.3
2	QatarQATWestern Asia	64.0	63.7	100.0	98.8
3	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	61.2	68.0	100.0	91.3
4	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	51.1	40.4	100.0	87.0
5	NigerNERWestern Africa	50.3	47.5	100.0	99.1
6	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	50.1	40.4	100.0	83.6
7	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	48.2	49.8	100.0	85.5
8	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	47.7	52.4	100.0	93.4
9	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	47.1	39.2	100.0	75.2
10	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	45.5	36.7	100.0	86.5
11	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	44.9	47.1	100.0	61.9
12	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	43.5	48.9	100.0	90.1
13	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	42.6	44.0	100.0	90.6
14	SenegalSENWestern Africa	42.4	38.7	100.0	70.9
15	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	41.6	48.1	100.0	54.3
16	OmanOMNWestern Asia	41.1	40.2	100.0	82.3
17	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	40.7	30.2	100.0	75.1
18	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	40.3	38.9	100.0	59.3
19	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	39.9	31.5	100.0	49.4
20	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	39.4	35.3	100.0	67.6
21	IraqIRQWestern Asia	38.6	36.1	100.0	58.4
22	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	38.2	34.1	100.0	53.2
23	MaliMLIWestern Africa	35.9	37.1	100.0	46.5
24	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	34.5	34.9	100.0	46.1
25	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	33.8	29.6	100.0	34.1
26	IranIRNSouthern Asia	33.4	34.2	100.0	35.7
27	BeninBENWestern Africa	33.1	36.0	100.0	30.7
28	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	32.6	23.0	100.0	40.0
29	TogoTGOWestern Africa	31.8	33.0	100.0	22.9
30	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	31.7	32.9	100.0	30.4
31	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	31.5	30.1	100.0	21.8
32	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	30.6	29.2	100.0	24.9
=33	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	30.5	29.1	100.0	22.2
=33	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	30.5	29.2	100.0	39.1
=33	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	30.5	30.9	100.0	17.3
36	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	29.7	23.9	100.0	26.5
37	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	29.4	28.6	100.0	5.9
38	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	29.1	28.1	100.0	3.2
=39	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	28.9	23.2	100.0	18.7
=39	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	28.9	29.0	100.0	11.2
41	GuineaGINWestern Africa	28.7	28.2	100.0	15.4
42	BoliviaBOLSouth America	28.6	27.2	100.0	26.5
43	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	27.8	24.2	100.0	14.9
=44	JordanJORWestern Asia	27.7	29.3	100.0	15.9
=44	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	27.7	28.4	100.0	12.3
=46	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	27.6	19.9	100.0	28.1
=46	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	27.6	24.9	100.0	12.5
48	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	27.3	22.0	100.0	12.7
49	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	26.5	24.9	100.0	10.5
50	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	26.3	15.4	100.0	12.1
51	YemenYEMWestern Asia	26.0	26.4	100.0	10.5
52	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	25.9	22.2	100.0	0.0
53	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	24.9	19.1	100.0	10.4
54	ChileCHLSouth America	24.7	19.2	100.0	4.6
55	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	24.6	21.9	100.0	5.6
56	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	24.2	20.8	100.0	6.0
57	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	24.1	20.2	100.0	3.5
58	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	24.0	25.3	100.0	0.9
59	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	23.9	13.2	100.0	14.6
=60	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	23.1	22.6	100.0	0.0
=60	HondurasHNDCentral America	23.1	18.6	100.0	0.3
62	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	22.7	26.7	100.0	0.8
=63	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	22.6	19.9	100.0	0.0
=63	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	22.6	22.7	100.0	2.2
65	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	22.5	19.0	100.0	4.2
=66	GabonGABMiddle Africa	21.9	20.8	100.0	0.0
=66	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	21.9	20.8	100.0	2.1
68	EritreaERIEastern Africa	21.7	23.8	100.0	1.1
=69	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	21.2	20.4	100.0	0.0
=69	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	21.2	20.5	100.0	0.6
71	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	20.9	18.0	100.0	7.4
=72	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	20.8	19.8	100.0	0.0
=72	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	20.8	22.9	100.0	0.0
74	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	20.7	20.4	100.0	0.0
=75	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	20.4	16.0	100.0	7.5
=75	IsraelISRWestern Asia	20.4	23.8	100.0	0.0
77	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	19.1	14.2	100.0	5.2
=78	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	18.6	16.8	100.0	0.0
=78	PeruPERSouth America	18.6	19.1	100.0	3.5
80	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	18.5	12.5	100.0	5.3
81	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	18.3	18.1	100.0	0.0
82	KenyaKENEastern Africa	18.0	14.1	100.0	0.0
=83	EcuadorECUSouth America	17.7	16.6	99.9	0.0
=83	ParaguayPRYSouth America	17.7	19.1	100.0	0.0
85	VenezuelaVENSouth America	17.3	14.9	100.0	0.0
86	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	17.2	21.5	100.0	0.1
87	Costa RicaCRICentral America	17.1	15.8	100.0	0.0
88	MexicoMEXCentral America	17.0	9.8	99.6	0.0
=89	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	16.9	14.7	100.0	0.5
=89	Northern CyprusXNCWestern Asia	16.9	17.0	100.0	0.0
91	NicaraguaNICCentral America	16.8	13.7	100.0	0.0
92	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	16.7	12.3	100.0	0.0
93	ColombiaCOLSouth America	16.6	17.4	100.0	0.0
=94	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	16.5	16.2	100.0	0.0
=94	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	16.5	18.1	100.0	0.0
96	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	16.4	18.7	100.0	0.0
97	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	16.0	14.6	100.0	0.0
98	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	15.9	14.7	100.0	0.0
=99	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	15.7	27.0	100.0	1.0
=99	ArgentinaARGSouth America	15.7	15.2	100.0	1.8
=99	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	15.7	12.1	100.0	2.0
102	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	15.3	12.9	100.0	0.0
103	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	15.2	14.2	100.0	0.0
104	PanamaPANCentral America	14.9	14.2	100.0	0.0
=105	KosovoXKXSouthern Europe	14.8	14.5	100.0	0.0
=105	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	14.8	15.4	100.0	0.0
=107	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	14.7	13.4	100.0	0.0
=107	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	14.7	13.3	100.0	0.2
=107	Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe	14.7	14.7	100.0	0.0
110	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	14.5	13.2	100.0	0.0
111	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	14.4	12.5	100.0	0.5
112	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	14.3	13.6	100.0	0.0
113	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	14.2	13.0	100.0	0.4
114	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	14.0	15.0	100.0	0.0
115	BrazilBRASouth America	13.9	17.8	99.9	1.2
116	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	13.8	10.3	100.0	0.0
117	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	13.5	10.4	100.0	0.0
=118	JapanJPNEastern Asia	13.4	12.9	100.0	0.0
=118	UruguayURYSouth America	13.4	9.9	100.0	0.0
=120	CuraçaoCUWCaribbean	13.3	12.4	100.0	0.0
=120	ItalyITASouthern Europe	13.3	10.9	100.0	0.0
122	GuyanaGUYSouth America	13.2	12.7	100.0	0.0
=123	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	13.1	11.9	100.0	0.0
=123	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	13.1	12.3	100.0	0.0
125	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	13.0	12.5	100.0	0.0
126	PolandPOLEastern Europe	12.9	11.4	100.0	0.0
=127	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	12.8	13.0	100.0	0.0
=127	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	12.8	14.9	100.0	0.1
=127	SurinameSURSouth America	12.8	11.6	100.0	0.0
=130	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	12.5	9.5	100.0	0.0
=130	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	12.5	12.3	100.0	0.0
=130	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	12.5	11.7	99.9	0.0
133	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	12.4	10.9	96.7	4.8
134	HaitiHTICaribbean	12.2	11.5	100.0	0.0
135	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	12.0	12.0	100.0	0.0
136	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	11.9	11.6	100.0	0.0
=137	San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe	11.8	11.6	100.0	0.0
=137	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	11.8	10.3	100.0	0.0
139	BelizeBLZCentral America	11.7	12.2	100.0	0.0
=140	ArubaABWCaribbean	11.6	11.5	100.0	0.0
=140	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	11.6	11.0	100.0	0.0
142	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	11.5	11.1	100.0	0.0
=143	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	11.3	11.3	98.5	0.0
=143	UkraineUKREastern Europe	11.3	10.3	100.0	0.0
145	GrenadaGRDCaribbean	11.2	10.8	99.8	0.0
=146	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	11.1	7.3	98.1	0.0
=146	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	11.1	10.4	99.9	0.0
148	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	11.0	10.8	100.0	0.0
=149	CubaCUBCaribbean	10.9	8.6	100.0	0.0
=149	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	10.9	12.7	100.0	0.0
=149	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	10.9	10.2	100.0	0.0
152	GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe	10.8	10.9	100.0	0.0
153	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	10.6	9.2	99.9	0.0
154	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	10.5	10.1	100.0	0.0
155	Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean	10.0	9.6	100.0	0.0
156	Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean	9.8	8.5	99.7	0.0
=157	BelarusBLREastern Europe	9.6	9.0	100.0	0.0
=157	CanadaCANNorthern America	9.6	15.0	96.0	0.3
159	SpainESPSouthern Europe	9.5	7.1	99.5	0.0
=160	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	8.9	7.9	99.9	0.0
=160	DominicaDMACaribbean	8.9	8.9	99.6	0.0
=162	BermudaBMUNorthern America	8.6	8.7	100.0	0.0
=162	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	8.6	7.0	99.5	0.0
=162	United StatesUSANorthern America	8.6	6.2	97.9	0.0
=165	LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe	8.5	8.2	100.0	0.0
=165	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	8.5	8.4	100.0	0.0
=167	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	8.4	7.4	99.4	0.0
=167	Saint MartinMAFCaribbean	8.4	8.2	100.0	0.0
169	MonacoMCOWestern Europe	8.3	8.3	100.0	0.0
=170	FranceFRAWestern Europe	8.2	6.9	99.4	0.0
=170	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	8.2	7.7	100.0	0.0
172	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	8.1	7.0	99.8	0.0
=173	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	8.0	8.3	100.0	0.0
=173	Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean	8.0	7.8	100.0	0.0
=173	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	8.0	7.4	99.1	0.0
=176	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	7.9	6.4	84.4	0.8
=176	Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean	7.9	8.0	97.3	0.0
178	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	7.8	7.1	99.3	0.0
=179	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	7.5	7.0	100.0	0.0
=179	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	7.5	6.6	100.0	0.0
=179	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	7.5	7.1	100.0	0.0
=182	BahamasBHSCaribbean	7.3	6.7	99.6	0.0
=182	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	7.3	6.4	100.0	0.0
=182	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	7.3	7.1	99.5	0.0
185	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	7.1	6.9	99.9	0.0
186	Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe	6.8	6.4	99.9	0.0
=187	MontserratMSRCaribbean	6.7	7.4	100.0	0.0
=187	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	6.7	6.2	98.8	0.0
=187	Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean	6.7	6.2	91.6	0.0
=190	AnguillaAIACaribbean	6.5	6.5	100.0	0.0
=190	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	6.5	6.2	98.4	0.0
192	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	6.1	5.6	97.5	0.0
=193	British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean	6.0	6.1	97.0	0.0
=193	FijiFJIMelanesia	6.0	5.5	87.1	0.0
195	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	5.8	6.7	79.7	0.0
196	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	5.5	4.1	69.4	0.0
197	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	5.3	4.2	66.1	0.0
198	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	5.2	5.3	65.3	0.0
=199	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	5.1	4.7	48.7	0.0
=199	PalauPLWMicronesia	5.1	5.1	59.6	0.0
201	AndorraANDSouthern Europe	4.9	4.3	41.9	0.0
202	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	4.8	4.9	15.6	0.0
=203	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	4.7	3.8	33.3	0.0
=203	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	4.7	4.8	27.9	0.0
205	TuvaluTUVPolynesia	4.4	4.4	7.8	0.0
=206	Faroe IslandsFRONorthern Europe	4.2	4.1	0.2	0.0
=206	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	4.2	4.2	1.4	0.0
208	TongaTONPolynesia	4.1	4.1	13.3	0.0
209	KiribatiKIRMicronesia	3.8	3.2	0.9	0.0
210	NauruNRUMicronesia	3.7	3.7	0.0	0.0
211	GuamGUMMicronesia	3.6	3.5	0.0	0.0
=212	American SamoaASMPolynesia	3.5	3.2	0.0	0.0
=212	Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia	3.5	2.4	0.1	0.0
=214	MicronesiaFSMMicronesia	3.3	3.4	0.0	0.0
=214	SamoaWSMPolynesia	3.3	3.2	0.0	0.0
216	Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia	3.1	3.2	0.0	0.0
217	NiueNIUPolynesia	3.0	2.9	0.0	0.0
=218	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	2.6	-1.5	0.0	0.0
=218	GreenlandGRLNorthern America	2.6	2.8	0.0	0.0
220	Cook IslandsCOKPolynesia	2.5	2.6	0.0	0.0

02In 2023

At either end

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

Highest

1Bangladesh68.2
2Qatar64.0
3Lesotho61.2
4Pakistan51.1
5Niger50.3

Lowest

220Cook Islands2.5
218French Polynesiashared2.6
218Greenlandshared2.6
217Niue3.0
216Northern Mariana Islands3.1

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 14.5. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

PM2.5, geographic mean (µg/m³)
HighestLesotho68.0
LowestFrench Polynesia-1.5
Middle country: 13.1
People at or above 5 µg/m³, the WHO guideline (%)
Highest160 share it
Lowest10 share it
Middle country: 100.0
People at or above 35 µg/m³, the WHO's first interim target (%)
HighestNiger99.1
Lowest137 share it
Middle country: 0.0

032022 → 2023

Since 2022

What changed between 2022 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
214values changed, of 220 in both
88 · 126rose · fell
6unchanged

Rose most

Rwanda33.9 → 40.3+6.4
Laos25.2 → 31.5+6.3
Bolivia23.1 → 28.6+5.5
Myanmar29.6 → 33.8+4.2
Bermuda4.8 → 8.6+3.8

Fell most

Qatar87.9 → 64.0−23.9
Kuwait66.2 → 48.2−18.0
Niger64.6 → 50.3−14.3
United Arab Emirates54.3 → 43.5−10.8
Bahrain57.4 → 47.7−9.7

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

163 distinct values among 220
Values are stored exactly as published, to 1 decimal. 3 countries share 30.5. 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-2023-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 (2023). PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2023 [data set], describing 2023. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/pm25-exposure/2023

0626 held

Other years

‹ The year before
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2022
220 countries
The year after ›
This is the newest year. A newer one will get its own page at its own address; this one is never rewritten.
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