Iran vs South Korea: Cumulative CO₂ emissions
Iran
21.81 billion tonnes
in 2024
South Korea
20.71 billion tonnes
in 2024
Iran rank
15th
South Korea rank
16th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions over time
- Iran
- South Korea
How they compare
Iran currently reports 21.81 billion tonnes against 20.71 billion tonnes in South Korea, a difference of 1.10 billion tonnes.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.1 times South Korea's.
Across all 113 years both countries report, Iran has been ahead every year.
Iran ranks 15th and South Korea ranks 16th of 215 countries.
Iran has averaged higher in every one of the 12 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5.29 million tonnes | 111,220 tonnes | 5.18 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1920s | 75.32 million tonnes | 540,324 tonnes | 74.78 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1930s | 265.09 million tonnes | 2.15 million tonnes | 262.95 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1940s | 590.37 million tonnes | 8.57 million tonnes | 581.81 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1950s | 854.43 million tonnes | 39.36 million tonnes | 815.07 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1960s | 1.19 billion tonnes | 188.76 million tonnes | 1.00 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1970s | 2.16 billion tonnes | 728.53 million tonnes | 1.44 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1980s | 3.62 billion tonnes | 2.03 billion tonnes | 1.59 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1990s | 5.70 billion tonnes | 4.66 billion tonnes | 1.04 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 2000s | 9.35 billion tonnes | 9.05 billion tonnes | 298.10 million tonnes | Iran |
| 2010s | 14.94 billion tonnes | 14.81 billion tonnes | 128.01 million tonnes | Iran |
| 2020s | 20.24 billion tonnes | 19.52 billion tonnes | 718.82 million tonnes | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions, Iran or South Korea?
- Iran, at 21.81 billion tonnes against 20.71 billion tonnes in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions between Iran and South Korea?
- 1.10 billion tonnes, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Korea?
- 113 years are reported by both, from 1911 to 2024.
- How do Iran and South Korea rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions?
- Iran ranks 15th and South Korea ranks 16th of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Cumulative CO₂ emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.