China vs United States: Annual CO₂ emissions by world region
China
12.29 billion tonnes
in 2024
United States
4.90 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Annual CO₂ emissions by world region over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 12.29 billion tonnes against 4.90 billion tonnes in United States, a difference of 7.38 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 2.5 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 118 shared years of data; in 1907 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 215 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States in 11.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 22.29 million tonnes | 1.15 billion tonnes | 1.12 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1910s | 27.80 million tonnes | 1.45 billion tonnes | 1.42 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1920s | 44.57 million tonnes | 1.76 billion tonnes | 1.71 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1930s | 62.31 million tonnes | 1.55 billion tonnes | 1.48 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1940s | 77.87 million tonnes | 2.27 billion tonnes | 2.19 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1950s | 251.05 million tonnes | 2.68 billion tonnes | 2.43 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1960s | 535.97 million tonnes | 3.37 billion tonnes | 2.84 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1970s | 1.15 billion tonnes | 4.63 billion tonnes | 3.48 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1980s | 1.94 billion tonnes | 4.60 billion tonnes | 2.66 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1990s | 3.11 billion tonnes | 5.43 billion tonnes | 2.32 billion tonnes | United States |
| 2000s | 5.62 billion tonnes | 5.97 billion tonnes | 346.26 million tonnes | United States |
| 2010s | 9.85 billion tonnes | 5.40 billion tonnes | 4.45 billion tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 11.67 billion tonnes | 4.92 billion tonnes | 6.75 billion tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual co₂ emissions by world region, China or United States?
- China, at 12.29 billion tonnes against 4.90 billion tonnes in United States as of 2024.
- What is the difference in annual co₂ emissions by world region between China and United States?
- 7.38 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 118 years are reported by both, from 1907 to 2024.
- How do China and United States rank globally for annual co₂ emissions by world region?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual CO₂ emissions by world region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.