China vs India: Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions
China
117.03 million tonnes
in 2024
India
130.72 million tonnes
in 2024
China rank
2nd
India rank
1st
Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 130.72 million tonnes against 117.03 million tonnes in China, a difference of 13.69 million tonnes.
That makes India's figure about 1.1 times China's.
The two have swapped places 32 times across 117 shared years of data; in 1908 it was India ahead.
China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 215 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, China averaged higher in 10 and India in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 2.18 million tonnes | 1.19 million tonnes | 993,737 tonnes | China |
| 1910s | 1.37 million tonnes | 1.88 million tonnes | 508,607 tonnes | India |
| 1920s | 1.03 million tonnes | -126,690 tonnes | 1.16 million tonnes | China |
| 1930s | 2.61 million tonnes | 760,422 tonnes | 1.85 million tonnes | China |
| 1940s | -1.23 million tonnes | 687,553 tonnes | 1.92 million tonnes | India |
| 1950s | 65.81 million tonnes | 4.52 million tonnes | 61.28 million tonnes | China |
| 1960s | -11.25 million tonnes | 7.60 million tonnes | 18.84 million tonnes | India |
| 1970s | 91.77 million tonnes | 9.89 million tonnes | 81.88 million tonnes | China |
| 1980s | 93.67 million tonnes | 26.44 million tonnes | 67.24 million tonnes | China |
| 1990s | 108.78 million tonnes | 42.05 million tonnes | 66.73 million tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 433.15 million tonnes | 65.21 million tonnes | 367.94 million tonnes | China |
| 2010s | 283.20 million tonnes | 99.78 million tonnes | 183.42 million tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 315.10 million tonnes | 116.46 million tonnes | 198.64 million tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher year-on-year change in co₂ emissions, China or India?
- India, at 130.72 million tonnes against 117.03 million tonnes in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in year-on-year change in co₂ emissions between China and India?
- 13.69 million tonnes, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 117 years are reported by both, from 1908 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for year-on-year change in co₂ emissions?
- China ranks 2nd and India ranks 1st of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual growth in total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.