South Korea vs Saudi Arabia: Cumulative CO₂ emissions
South Korea
20.71 billion tonnes
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
19.02 billion tonnes
in 2024
South Korea rank
16th
Saudi Arabia rank
18th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions over time
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 20.71 billion tonnes against 19.02 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1.69 billion tonnes.
That makes South Korea's figure about 1.1 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 89 shared years of data; in 1936 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 16th and Saudi Arabia ranks 18th of 215 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 7 and Saudi Arabia in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 3.08 million tonnes | 542,271 tonnes | 2.54 million tonnes | South Korea |
| 1940s | 8.57 million tonnes | 41.75 million tonnes | 33.19 million tonnes | Saudi Arabia |
| 1950s | 39.36 million tonnes | 130.17 million tonnes | 90.81 million tonnes | Saudi Arabia |
| 1960s | 188.76 million tonnes | 179.21 million tonnes | 9.55 million tonnes | South Korea |
| 1970s | 728.53 million tonnes | 699.96 million tonnes | 28.56 million tonnes | South Korea |
| 1980s | 2.03 billion tonnes | 2.13 billion tonnes | 106.67 million tonnes | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 4.66 billion tonnes | 4.37 billion tonnes | 294.38 million tonnes | South Korea |
| 2000s | 9.05 billion tonnes | 7.53 billion tonnes | 1.53 billion tonnes | South Korea |
| 2010s | 14.81 billion tonnes | 12.74 billion tonnes | 2.07 billion tonnes | South Korea |
| 2020s | 19.52 billion tonnes | 17.65 billion tonnes | 1.87 billion tonnes | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions, South Korea or Saudi Arabia?
- South Korea, at 20.71 billion tonnes against 19.02 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions between South Korea and Saudi Arabia?
- 1.69 billion tonnes, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Saudi Arabia?
- 89 years are reported by both, from 1936 to 2024.
- How do South Korea and Saudi Arabia rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions?
- South Korea ranks 16th and Saudi Arabia ranks 18th 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.