China vs United States: Consumption-based CO₂ emissions

China

10.86 billion tonnes

in 2023

United States

5.43 billion tonnes

in 2023

China rank

1st

United States rank

2nd

Consumption-based CO₂ emissions over time

China currently reports 10.86 billion tonnes against 5.43 billion tonnes in United States, a difference of 5.43 billion tonnes.

That makes China's figure about 2.0 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was United States ahead.

China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 120 countries.

Indicator: Consumption-based CO₂ emissions
Unit: tonnes
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 121 places, 4,098 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Annual consumption-based emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), measured in tonnes.