Lesotho vs South Africa: Carbon intensity: CO₂ emissions per dollar of GDP

Lesotho
0.5358 kilograms per international-$
in 2022
South Africa
0.5926 kilograms per international-$
in 2022
Lesotho rank
11th
South Africa rank
9th

Carbon intensity: CO₂ emissions per dollar of GDP over time

  • Lesotho
  • South Africa
0.250.50.7511.21.5195019862022

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 0.5926 kilograms per international-$ against 0.5358 kilograms per international-$ in Lesotho, a difference of 0.0568 kilograms per international-$.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Lesotho's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1990 it was South Africa ahead.

Lesotho ranks 11th and South Africa ranks 9th of 164 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Lesotho South Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 0.4808 kilograms per international-$ 1.26 kilograms per international-$ 0.7807 kilograms per international-$ South Africa
2000s 0.508 kilograms per international-$ 0.927 kilograms per international-$ 0.419 kilograms per international-$ South Africa
2010s 0.4644 kilograms per international-$ 0.6791 kilograms per international-$ 0.2147 kilograms per international-$ South Africa
2020s 0.5409 kilograms per international-$ 0.6188 kilograms per international-$ 0.0779 kilograms per international-$ South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher carbon intensity: co₂ emissions per dollar of gdp, Lesotho or South Africa?
South Africa, at 0.5926 kilograms per international-$ against 0.5358 kilograms per international-$ in Lesotho as of 2022.
What is the difference in carbon intensity: co₂ emissions per dollar of gdp between Lesotho and South Africa?
0.0568 kilograms per international-$, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and South Africa?
33 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2022.
How do Lesotho and South Africa rank globally for carbon intensity: co₂ emissions per dollar of gdp?
Lesotho ranks 11th and South Africa ranks 9th of 164 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Global Carbon Budget (2025); Bolt and van Zanden – Maddison Project Database 2023 – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Carbon intensity: CO₂ emissions per dollar of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Carbon intensity: CO₂ emissions per dollar of GDP
Unit
kilograms per international-$
Source
Global Carbon Budget (2025); Bolt and van Zanden – Maddison Project Database 2023 – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
164 places, 14,672 data points, 1820–2022
Last refreshed

Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in kilograms per dollar of GDP (2011 international-$).