China vs North Korea: Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions
China
1.0%
in 2024
North Korea
0.8%
in 2024
China rank
140th
North Korea rank
143rd
Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions over time
- China
- North Korea
How they compare
China currently reports 1.0% against 0.8% in North Korea, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times North Korea's.
The two have swapped places 45 times across 113 shared years of data; in 1910 it was North Korea ahead.
China ranks 140th and North Korea ranks 143rd of 215 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and North Korea in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | North Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5.8% | 19.3% | 13.5% | North Korea |
| 1920s | 2.6% | 16.5% | 13.9% | North Korea |
| 1930s | 4.9% | 17.5% | 12.6% | North Korea |
| 1940s | 2.8% | 182.2% | 179.5% | North Korea |
| 1950s | 29.9% | 39.9% | 9.9% | North Korea |
| 1960s | -0.4% | 12.6% | 13.0% | North Korea |
| 1970s | 10.0% | 6.6% | 3.4% | China |
| 1980s | 5.0% | 6.7% | 1.7% | North Korea |
| 1990s | 3.8% | -10.1% | 13.9% | China |
| 2000s | 8.4% | 0.8% | 7.6% | China |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 4.7% | 1.6% | North Korea |
| 2020s | 2.8% | -1.6% | 4.4% | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual percentage change in co₂ emissions, China or North Korea?
- China, at 1.0% against 0.8% in North Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in annual percentage change in co₂ emissions between China and North Korea?
- 0.2%, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and North Korea?
- 113 years are reported by both, from 1910 to 2024.
- How do China and North Korea rank globally for annual percentage change in co₂ emissions?
- China ranks 140th and North Korea ranks 143rd of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual percentage 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 percentage growth in total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change.