Germany vs Japan: Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions
Germany
-21.45 million tonnes
in 2024
Japan
-25.04 million tonnes
in 2024
Germany rank
214th
Japan rank
215th
Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Germany currently reports -21.45 million tonnes against -25.04 million tonnes in Japan, a difference of 3.60 million tonnes.
The two have swapped places 58 times across 156 shared years of data; in 1869 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 214th and Japan ranks 215th of 215 countries.
Across the 17 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 9 and Japan in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 3.22 million tonnes | 7,328 tonnes | 3.22 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1870s | 3.33 million tonnes | 229,733 tonnes | 3.10 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1880s | 8.80 million tonnes | 393,880 tonnes | 8.41 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1890s | 10.44 million tonnes | 1.10 million tonnes | 9.34 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1900s | 14.23 million tonnes | 2.10 million tonnes | 12.13 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1910s | -5.81 million tonnes | 4.09 million tonnes | 9.91 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1920s | 15.18 million tonnes | 1.57 million tonnes | 13.61 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1930s | 10.94 million tonnes | 3.29 million tonnes | 7.65 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1940s | -21.65 million tonnes | -2.93 million tonnes | 18.72 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1950s | 32.33 million tonnes | 9.45 million tonnes | 22.88 million tonnes | Germany |
| 1960s | 29.63 million tonnes | 46.09 million tonnes | 16.46 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1970s | 6.59 million tonnes | 30.33 million tonnes | 23.74 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1980s | -10.92 million tonnes | 6.42 million tonnes | 17.33 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1990s | -11.31 million tonnes | 21.68 million tonnes | 32.99 million tonnes | Japan |
| 2000s | -10.55 million tonnes | -7.79 million tonnes | 2.76 million tonnes | Japan |
| 2010s | -8.13 million tonnes | -5.82 million tonnes | 2.31 million tonnes | Japan |
| 2020s | -27.27 million tonnes | -28.04 million tonnes | 773,180 tonnes | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher year-on-year change in co₂ emissions, Germany or Japan?
- Germany, at -21.45 million tonnes against -25.04 million tonnes in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in year-on-year change in co₂ emissions between Germany and Japan?
- 3.60 million tonnes, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 156 years are reported by both, from 1869 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for year-on-year change in co₂ emissions?
- Germany ranks 214th and Japan ranks 215th 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.