Japan vs United States: Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions
Japan
-25.04 million tonnes
in 2024
United States
-14.29 million tonnes
in 2024
Japan rank
215th
United States rank
212th
Year-on-year change in CO₂ emissions over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports -14.29 million tonnes against -25.04 million tonnes in Japan, a difference of 10.76 million tonnes.
The two have swapped places 64 times across 156 shared years of data; in 1869 it was United States ahead.
Japan ranks 215th and United States ranks 212th of 215 countries.
Across the 17 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 5 and United States in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 7,328 tonnes | 11.34 million tonnes | 11.34 million tonnes | United States |
| 1870s | 229,733 tonnes | 8.18 million tonnes | 7.95 million tonnes | United States |
| 1880s | 393,880 tonnes | 16.07 million tonnes | 15.67 million tonnes | United States |
| 1890s | 1.10 million tonnes | 29.07 million tonnes | 27.97 million tonnes | United States |
| 1900s | 2.10 million tonnes | 54.48 million tonnes | 52.38 million tonnes | United States |
| 1910s | 4.09 million tonnes | 31.48 million tonnes | 27.38 million tonnes | United States |
| 1920s | 1.57 million tonnes | 47.71 million tonnes | 46.14 million tonnes | United States |
| 1930s | 3.29 million tonnes | -29.26 million tonnes | 32.55 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1940s | -2.93 million tonnes | 49.39 million tonnes | 52.33 million tonnes | United States |
| 1950s | 9.45 million tonnes | 66.70 million tonnes | 57.25 million tonnes | United States |
| 1960s | 46.09 million tonnes | 120.32 million tonnes | 74.23 million tonnes | United States |
| 1970s | 30.33 million tonnes | 87.36 million tonnes | 57.03 million tonnes | United States |
| 1980s | 6.42 million tonnes | 5.15 million tonnes | 1.27 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1990s | 21.68 million tonnes | 84.00 million tonnes | 62.32 million tonnes | United States |
| 2000s | -7.79 million tonnes | -31.42 million tonnes | 23.63 million tonnes | Japan |
| 2010s | -5.82 million tonnes | -25.02 million tonnes | 19.20 million tonnes | Japan |
| 2020s | -28.04 million tonnes | -66.36 million tonnes | 38.32 million tonnes | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher year-on-year change in co₂ emissions, Japan or United States?
- United States, at -14.29 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 Japan and United States?
- 10.76 million tonnes, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 156 years are reported by both, from 1869 to 2024.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for year-on-year change in co₂ emissions?
- Japan ranks 215th and United States ranks 212th 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.