Costa Rica vs El Salvador: Carbon dioxide emissions by income level
Costa Rica
8.76 million tonnes
in 2024
El Salvador
8.97 million tonnes
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
114th
El Salvador rank
112th
Carbon dioxide emissions by income level over time
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
How they compare
El Salvador currently reports 8.97 million tonnes against 8.76 million tonnes in Costa Rica, a difference of 211,840 tonnes.
The two have swapped places 27 times across 155 shared years of data; in 1870 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 114th and El Salvador ranks 112th of 215 countries.
Across the 16 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 14 and El Salvador in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | El Salvador | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 174.7 tonnes | 3.7 tonnes | 171 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1880s | 1,465 tonnes | 17.2 tonnes | 1,448 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 25,816 tonnes | 1,673 tonnes | 24,143 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 46,312 tonnes | 175.6 tonnes | 46,136 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 72,333 tonnes | 1,252 tonnes | 71,081 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 11,410 tonnes | 4,400 tonnes | 7,010 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 4,235 tonnes | 2,412 tonnes | 1,823 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1940s | 2,100 tonnes | 459 tonnes | 1,641 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1950s | 395,094 tonnes | 465,482 tonnes | 70,388 tonnes | El Salvador |
| 1960s | 770,269 tonnes | 1.02 million tonnes | 245,334 tonnes | El Salvador |
| 1970s | 2.09 million tonnes | 1.99 million tonnes | 99,973 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 2.42 million tonnes | 2.05 million tonnes | 371,641 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 4.40 million tonnes | 4.35 million tonnes | 52,430 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 6.77 million tonnes | 6.26 million tonnes | 518,474 tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 7.60 million tonnes | 6.46 million tonnes | 1.14 million tonnes | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 7.93 million tonnes | 7.73 million tonnes | 199,242 tonnes | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher carbon dioxide emissions by income level, Costa Rica or El Salvador?
- El Salvador, at 8.97 million tonnes against 8.76 million tonnes in Costa Rica as of 2024.
- What is the difference in carbon dioxide emissions by income level between Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 211,840 tonnes, with El Salvador ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 155 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2024.
- How do Costa Rica and El Salvador rank globally for carbon dioxide emissions by income level?
- Costa Rica ranks 114th and El Salvador ranks 112th of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Carbon dioxide emissions by income level. 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.