Skip to content
Nations Inquiry — home

Global Carbon Project · CO₂ Emissions per Capita

CO₂ emissions per person by country

How much carbon dioxide does each person's share of a country emit?

Of the 210 countries compared in 2024, DR Congo had the lowest reading, 0.0540, and Qatar had the highest reading, 41.2713. In the middle country the figure was 3.2100. Among the 172 countries measured in every edition since 1950, the middle one moved from 0.5405 to 3.4305.

Part ofEnvironment & SustainabilityEnergy

CO₂ emissions per person · 2024

Key statistic · Environment & Sustainability

Lowest of 210DR Congo

0.0540

012024 · position · derived

Who leads

The three countries at the lowest end of 210 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.

  1. 1

    DR Congo

    Middle Africa

    0.0540

    Photo: Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Burundi

    Eastern Africa

    0.0653

    Photo: Tequendamia · CC0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Somalia

    Eastern Africa

    0.0694

    Photo: AMISOM · CC0, greyscale

Highest in 2024

  1. Qatar41.2713
  2. Kuwait26.2475
  3. Brunei26.0469

Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.

Lowest on each continent

02Every measured country

CO₂ emissions per person on a map

Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.

All regions

Darker is a lower value — the better end.

  • 6.7688–41.2713
  • 4.0852–6.6676
  • 2.2170–3.9831
  • 0.6241–2.2010
  • 0.0540–0.6106
  • No reading in 2024
  • Africa

    0.4419

    the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members

    DR Congo0.0540

    Libya8.8416

    Lowest and highest reading in Africa.

  • Oceania

    2.4155

    the middle country, of 18 measured · 21 members

    Solomon Islands0.3597

    New Caledonia18.0654

    Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.

  • Americas

    3.3695

    the middle country, of 44 measured · 48 members

    Haiti0.2523

    Trinidad and Tobago22.9319

    Lowest and highest reading in Americas.

  • Asia

    3.7361

    the middle country, of 51 measured · 52 members

    Yemen0.2494

    Qatar41.2713

    Lowest and highest reading in Asia.

  • Europe

    5.0879

    the middle country, of 43 measured · 49 members

    Albania1.5920

    Faroe Islands13.0936

    Lowest and highest reading in Europe.

22 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
  • Eastern Africa

    0.2294

    the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members

    Burundi0.0653

    Seychelles5.0037

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.

  • Western Africa

    0.2901

    the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members

    Niger0.1173

    Cabo Verde1.1313

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.

  • Middle Africa

    0.5895

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    DR Congo0.0540

    Equatorial Guinea3.7043

    Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.

  • Melanesia

    0.7891

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    Solomon Islands0.3597

    New Caledonia18.0654

    Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.

  • Southern Asia

    0.9014

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    Afghanistan0.2538

    Iran8.6562

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.

  • Southern Africa

    1.1449

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    Eswatini0.8405

    South Africa6.8716

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.

  • Central America

    1.5617

    the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members

    Nicaragua0.8141

    Mexico3.5227

    Lowest and highest reading in Central America.

  • Polynesia

    2.3695

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 7 members

    Samoa1.1264

    Cook Islands5.8332

    Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.

  • Northern Africa

    2.4388

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members

    Sudan0.3527

    Libya8.8416

    Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.

  • South America

    2.4449

    the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members

    Paraguay1.1454

    Guyana5.4270

    Lowest and highest reading in South America.

  • South-eastern Asia

    3.1403

    the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members

    Timor-Leste0.4770

    Brunei26.0469

    Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.

  • Central Asia

    3.8291

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    Tajikistan1.0141

    Kazakhstan13.9374

    Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.

  • Micronesia

    4.1142

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members

    Kiribati0.5386

    Palau12.7776

    Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.

  • Southern Europe

    4.7714

    the middle country, of 14 measured · 17 members

    Albania1.5920

    Serbia6.2378

    Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.

  • Eastern Europe

    4.9811

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members

    Moldova1.7552

    Russia12.2947

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.

  • Caribbean

    5.2112

    the middle country, of 20 measured · 24 members

    Haiti0.2523

    Trinidad and Tobago22.9319

    Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.

  • Western Asia

    5.2242

    the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members

    Yemen0.2494

    Qatar41.2713

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.

  • Northern Europe

    5.3006

    the middle country, of 11 measured · 13 members

    Latvia3.4521

    Faroe Islands13.0936

    Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.

  • Western Europe

    6.2385

    the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members

    Liechtenstein3.3013

    Luxembourg10.4597

    Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.

  • Eastern Asia

    8.2154

    the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members

    Macau1.4666

    Mongolia12.8596

    Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.

  • Australia and New Zealand

    2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.

    New Zealand6.2293

    Australia14.4772

    Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Northern America

    4 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, United States.

    Bermuda8.5092

    United States14.1973

    Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.

03The whole field at once

The spread

210 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 3.2100; a quarter are above 5.9801, and a quarter below 0.9294. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.

10203040Africa54 comparedLibya: 8.8416South Africa: 6.8716Seychelles: 5.0037Algeria: 4.2338Equatorial Guinea: 3.7043Mauritius: 3.6766Botswana: 2.9596Tunisia: 2.6605Egypt: 2.2170Gabon: 2.1264Morocco: 1.8136Republic of the Congo: 1.3958Namibia: 1.1449Cabo Verde: 1.1313Lesotho: 1.1003Mauritania: 1.0134Eswatini: 0.8405Zimbabwe: 0.8237Senegal: 0.7616Comoros: 0.6365Ghana: 0.6106São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.6019Angola: 0.5895Nigeria: 0.5837Zambia: 0.5650Djibouti: 0.4827Côte d’Ivoire: 0.4643Benin: 0.4194Kenya: 0.3761Sudan: 0.3527Cameroon: 0.3307Tanzania: 0.2920Gambia: 0.2909Togo: 0.2894Mali: 0.2851Burkina Faso: 0.2763Guinea: 0.2729Mozambique: 0.2487Eritrea: 0.2100Sierra Leone: 0.1660Guinea-Bissau: 0.1554Liberia: 0.1531Rwanda: 0.1426South Sudan: 0.1420Madagascar: 0.1417Chad: 0.1395Ethiopia: 0.1351Uganda: 0.1266Niger: 0.1173Malawi: 0.0869Central African Republic: 0.0740Somalia: 0.0694Burundi: 0.0653DR Congo: 0.0540DR Congo 0.0540 · Libya 8.8416Americas44 comparedTrinidad and Tobago: 22.9319Sint Maarten: 16.5547United States: 14.1973Canada: 13.4199Curaçao: 12.3442Greenland: 11.0846Anguilla: 10.1442Aruba: 8.5193Bermuda: 8.5092Turks and Caicos Islands: 8.1410Bahamas: 7.6497Antigua and Barbuda: 7.0932Montserrat: 6.0559Saint Kitts and Nevis: 5.5453Guyana: 5.4270British Virgin Islands: 4.8772Barbados: 4.8330Suriname: 4.7094Venezuela: 4.0852Chile: 3.9831Argentina: 3.7434Mexico: 3.5227Grenada: 3.2163Saint Lucia: 2.9871Jamaica: 2.9592Dominican Republic: 2.8992Panama: 2.8046Dominica: 2.5807Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 2.5409Ecuador: 2.5353Uruguay: 2.3544Bolivia: 2.3127Brazil: 2.2784Cuba: 2.2259Peru: 2.0529Belize: 1.9086Colombia: 1.7520Costa Rica: 1.7077El Salvador: 1.4156Honduras: 1.1874Paraguay: 1.1454Guatemala: 1.0801Nicaragua: 0.8141Haiti: 0.2523Haiti 0.2523Trinidad and Tobago 22.9319Asia51 comparedQatar: 41.2713Kuwait: 26.2475Brunei: 26.0469Bahrain: 24.2702Saudi Arabia: 20.3792United Arab Emirates: 20.1311Oman: 15.6511Kazakhstan: 13.9374Mongolia: 12.8596Taiwan: 11.3012South Korea: 11.2859Turkmenistan: 10.8087Singapore: 9.2448China: 8.6584Iran: 8.6562Malaysia: 8.1621Japan: 7.7725Türkiye: 5.8650Israel: 5.6074Cyprus: 5.3739Iraq: 5.0744Hong Kong: 4.4942Maldives: 4.3695Azerbaijan: 3.8533Uzbekistan: 3.8291Thailand: 3.7361Vietnam: 3.6730Laos: 3.1403Georgia: 3.0949Indonesia: 2.8651Lebanon: 2.6955Armenia: 2.4987North Korea: 2.3605India: 2.2010Bhutan: 2.0940Jordan: 2.0098Kyrgyzstan: 1.6379Philippines: 1.5096Macau: 1.4666Syria: 1.2880Cambodia: 1.2406Tajikistan: 1.0141Sri Lanka: 0.9014Palestine: 0.8698Pakistan: 0.7156Nepal: 0.6332Bangladesh: 0.6241Myanmar: 0.5799Timor-Leste: 0.4770Afghanistan: 0.2538Yemen: 0.2494Yemen 0.2494Qatar 41.2713Europe43 comparedFaroe Islands: 13.0936Russia: 12.2947Luxembourg: 10.4597Iceland: 9.6671Belgium: 7.2798Poland: 7.0801Czechia: 7.0440Germany: 6.7688Norway: 6.6676Ireland: 6.3388Netherlands: 6.2969Serbia: 6.2378Austria: 6.1801Belarus: 6.1632Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.1392Estonia: 6.1055Slovenia: 6.0184Greece: 5.3107Finland: 5.3006Slovakia: 5.2828Andorra: 5.1827Italy: 5.0879Kosovo: 4.7780Croatia: 4.7647Denmark: 4.7461Bulgaria: 4.6794Spain: 4.5990United Kingdom: 4.5258Lithuania: 4.3865Hungary: 4.1357France: 3.9694Ukraine: 3.7638Montenegro: 3.7217North Macedonia: 3.6312Romania: 3.6051Switzerland: 3.5947Sweden: 3.5917Latvia: 3.4521Portugal: 3.4089Liechtenstein: 3.3013Malta: 3.2038Moldova: 1.7552Albania: 1.5920Albania 1.5920 · Faroe Islands 13.0936Oceania18 comparedNew Caledonia: 18.0654Australia: 14.4772Palau: 12.7776New Zealand: 6.2293Cook Islands: 5.8332Nauru: 5.1386Niue: 4.1930Marshall Islands: 4.1142French Polynesia: 3.2748Fiji: 1.5561Tonga: 1.4643Micronesia: 1.3311Tuvalu: 1.1860Samoa: 1.1264Papua New Guinea: 0.7891Vanuatu: 0.6013Kiribati: 0.5386Solomon Islands: 0.3597Solomon Islands 0.3597New Caledonia 18.0654middle country 3.2100

04All 210 ever measured

Every country

In order, highest value first — position 1 is the highest value, the way Global Carbon Project’s own tables read. “=” marks a position shared with another country. Global Carbon Project ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. Read it beside the Ecological Footprint on the same topic. This counts emissions at the chimney; the footprint counts the consumption behind them, and the two disagree most for countries that import their manufactured goods.

The raw table

Showing 25 of 210 countries

  1. 1 of 210QatarWestern Asia41.2713
  2. 2 of 210KuwaitWestern Asia26.2475
  3. 3 of 210BruneiSouth-eastern Asia26.0469
  4. 4 of 210BahrainWestern Asia24.2702
  5. 5 of 210Trinidad and TobagoCaribbean22.9319
  6. 6 of 210Saudi ArabiaWestern Asia20.3792
  7. 7 of 210United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia20.1311
  8. 8 of 210New CaledoniaMelanesia18.0654
  9. 9 of 210Sint MaartenCaribbean16.5547
  10. 10 of 210OmanWestern Asia15.6511
  11. 11 of 210AustraliaAustralia and New Zealand14.4772
  12. 12 of 210United StatesNorthern America14.1973
  13. 13 of 210KazakhstanCentral Asia13.9374
  14. 14 of 210CanadaNorthern America13.4199
  15. 15 of 210Faroe IslandsNorthern Europe13.0936
  16. 16 of 210MongoliaEastern Asia12.8596
  17. 17 of 210PalauMicronesia12.7776
  18. 18 of 210CuraçaoCaribbean12.3442
  19. 19 of 210RussiaEastern Europe12.2947
  20. 20 of 210TaiwanEastern Asia11.3012
  21. 21 of 210South KoreaEastern Asia11.2859
  22. 22 of 210GreenlandNorthern America11.0846
  23. 23 of 210TurkmenistanCentral Asia10.8087
  24. 24 of 210LuxembourgWestern Europe10.4597
  25. 25 of 210AnguillaCaribbean10.1442

Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.

051950–2024 · 75 editions

Over time

Each point is one year. A fall can mean cleaner energy, a recession, or industry moving abroad — the value counts emissions where the fuel is burned, so a country can cut its own figure by importing what it used to make.

2468195019601970198019902000201020202024EuropeAsiaAmericasOceaniaAfrica
  • the middle country
  • the middle half of countries
  • the middle of the 172 countries measured every time
  • each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
YearCountriesMiddle countryMiddle halfMeasured every time
20242103.21000.9294 – 5.98013.4305
20232103.14540.9063 – 5.76253.4541
20222103.16230.9230 – 6.22853.3709
20212103.08700.9437 – 6.46273.2683
20202102.90260.9078 – 5.61163.1545
20192103.27340.9342 – 6.38533.3224
20182103.03640.8754 – 6.61183.1775
20172103.04910.8414 – 6.59683.3384
20162102.89400.8179 – 6.52243.1252
20152102.84640.7764 – 6.47783.3098
20142102.91940.7334 – 6.64083.2962
20132102.77900.7181 – 7.10193.2735
20122102.76980.7332 – 6.82813.3328
20112102.74770.7472 – 7.04143.1602
20102102.81160.7418 – 7.15123.1325
20092102.79910.7663 – 7.05823.1046
20082102.97880.7630 – 7.25073.2863
20072102.59270.7683 – 7.32123.1927
20062102.86470.7372 – 7.65313.2415
20052102.88490.7761 – 7.62503.2778
20042102.80170.7438 – 7.45723.1886
20032102.91780.7606 – 7.36763.0234
20022102.78500.7423 – 7.27282.9242
20012102.72600.7569 – 7.14722.9608
20002102.66150.6781 – 7.12142.8963
19992102.45150.6451 – 6.87282.7794
19982102.24990.6418 – 6.65212.6392
19972102.31190.5469 – 6.78402.9640
19962102.23390.5039 – 7.01532.8801
19952102.11730.4633 – 6.71742.7886
19942102.16860.4815 – 6.79962.7275
19932072.39760.4849 – 6.93042.7322
19922072.30690.4718 – 6.79322.6847
19912042.41750.4402 – 7.05392.5970
19902032.56700.4438 – 7.53002.8068
19891972.71620.4993 – 7.29662.7935
19881972.31990.4944 – 7.36662.7614
19871972.43320.4735 – 7.24982.5847
19861972.33660.4570 – 7.31562.6111
19851972.33270.4766 – 7.35402.6929
19841972.15490.4790 – 7.26672.5555
19831972.24300.4458 – 6.98012.6156
19821971.95290.4517 – 7.27592.5098
19811972.08470.4476 – 7.57542.4340
19801972.00010.4666 – 7.73072.4038
19791972.13130.4780 – 8.11642.4694
19781971.95920.4183 – 7.66692.4618
19771971.93900.4041 – 7.40232.3875
19761971.97050.3911 – 7.30842.3121
19751971.69500.3987 – 7.20122.2687
19741971.70030.3780 – 7.06502.1917
19731971.65890.3896 – 7.01492.2807
19721971.77360.3747 – 6.50632.1762
19711961.69290.3502 – 6.72671.9968
19701951.56330.3583 – 6.62031.7855
19691931.38070.3328 – 5.71501.7891
19681921.46090.2738 – 5.25991.7307
19671921.24980.2504 – 5.05811.5644
19661921.15100.2381 – 4.34221.3234
19651920.97080.2283 – 4.25221.2942
19641920.90640.2140 – 4.10881.2138
19631890.86480.2029 – 3.73671.2267
19621880.96060.1949 – 3.79511.1818
19611860.85630.1637 – 3.54241.1130
19601850.85980.1616 – 3.41451.0401
19591850.73010.1538 – 3.08530.9895
19581800.79630.1502 – 3.14740.8576
19571800.77280.1406 – 3.25870.8776
19561800.71550.1321 – 3.36160.7973
19551800.63890.1263 – 3.04220.7258
19541770.56830.1136 – 2.81200.6370
19531760.45430.1121 – 2.65650.5051
19521760.42410.1177 – 2.61440.4786
19511750.47050.1097 – 2.35200.5019
19501730.53950.1105 – 2.21260.5405

062023 → 2024

Who rose and fell

The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.

Improved most

before → after
  1. Turkmenistan12.9570 → 10.8087 · 16th → 23rd−2.1483
  2. Brunei27.2420 → 26.0469 · 2nd → 3rd−1.1951
  3. Trinidad and Tobago23.6444 → 22.9319 · 5th → 5th−0.7125
  4. Czechia7.6998 → 7.0440 · 36th → 40th−0.6558
  5. Canada13.8802 → 13.4199 · 14th → 14th−0.4603

Worsened most

before → after
  1. Qatar40.1279 → 41.2713 · 1st → 1st+1.1433
  2. Kuwait25.4545 → 26.2475 · 3rd → 2nd+0.7930
  3. Iceland9.0522 → 9.6671 · 26th → 26th+0.6150
  4. New Caledonia17.4837 → 18.0654 · 8th → 8th+0.5817
  5. Palau12.1966 → 12.7776 · 18th → 17th+0.5810

210 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024.

07Across every edition

CO₂ emissions per person in records

The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.

08The measure

About CO₂ emissions per person

This is how much carbon dioxide a country emits from burning fossil fuels and making cement, divided by how many people live there. The Global Carbon Project has compiled it every year since the 1950s and it is the number most climate comparisons rest on.

What the number is: Fossil CO₂ (tonnes per person).

What it does not measure

It counts fossil fuels and cement only, so a country that clears forest rather than burning coal reads low here. It also counts emissions where the fuel is burned rather than where the goods are used, so moving a factory abroad lowers a country's figure without lowering the world's.

09Where it fits

Connections

Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.

All statistics

In the Country Index

A key statistic for Environment & Sustainability

“How much carbon dioxide a country's own fuel burning puts into the air for each person living there.”

Edition used
2024 (data 2024)
Countries
210
Licence
CC BY 4.0

Environment & Sustainability standingsHow the keys combine

Moves with

Where CO₂ emissions per person is higher, these tend to be higher too.

Moves against

Where CO₂ emissions per person is higher, these tend to be lower.

Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 190 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.

On the same subject

10Keep reading

Explore further

The countries at either end

11Questions

CO₂ emissions per person: questions and answers

Which country has the lowest CO₂ emissions per person?

DR Congo, at 0.0540, among the 210 countries compared in 2024.

Which country has the highest CO₂ emissions per person?

Qatar, at 41.2713, among the 210 countries compared in 2024.

How many countries does the CO₂ Emissions per Capita cover?

210 in 2024. The number measured varies from 173 to 210 between editions.

What is the world average CO₂ emissions per person?

This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 210 compared in 2024, the figure was 3.2100.

Is this Global Carbon Project’s own ranking?

No. Global Carbon Project publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.

How often is the CO₂ Emissions per Capita published?

This site holds 75 editions, describing 1950 to 2024.

Where does the data come from, and can I download it?

From Global Carbon Project, under CC BY 4.0. From the Global Carbon Project's own Zenodo deposit — the archive the Project publishes itself, not a redistributor's copy. The per-capita values are the Project's, not recomputed here. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.

12Method

Sources, method and citation

Source

CO₂ Emissions per Capita — Global Carbon Project

From the Global Carbon Project's own Zenodo deposit — the archive the Project publishes itself, not a redistributor's copy. The per-capita values are the Project's, not recomputed here.

Newest edition

Report year 2024Data year 2024

Cite the source as: Andrew, R. M., & Peters, G. P. (2025). The Global Carbon Project's fossil CO2 emissions dataset (2025v15) [Data set]. Zenodo.

Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-25.

The full 2024 table, row for row

How this page reads the numbers

  • Global Carbon Project ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
  • Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
  • A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
  • Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.

The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.

Photographs

The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). CO₂ emissions per person by country: CO₂ Emissions per Capita, data from Global Carbon Project. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/co2-per-capita

Feedback

Feedback

How are we doing?

Two answers are required — a rating and your email. The rest is up to you.