China vs Japan: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from cement
China
17.31 billion tonnes
in 2024
Japan
2.10 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
1st
Japan rank
4th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from cement over time
- China
- Japan
How they compare
China currently reports 17.31 billion tonnes against 2.10 billion tonnes in Japan, a difference of 15.20 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 8.2 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 97 shared years of data; in 1928 it was Japan ahead.
China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 4th of 211 countries.
Across the 11 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and Japan in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 78,038 tonnes | 2.95 million tonnes | 2.87 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1930s | 884,472 tonnes | 16.36 million tonnes | 15.48 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1940s | 3.96 million tonnes | 37.97 million tonnes | 34.01 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1950s | 13.92 million tonnes | 66.92 million tonnes | 52.99 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1960s | 54.34 million tonnes | 179.58 million tonnes | 125.23 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1970s | 168.45 million tonnes | 454.86 million tonnes | 286.41 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1980s | 525.69 million tonnes | 855.66 million tonnes | 329.97 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1990s | 1.59 billion tonnes | 1.24 billion tonnes | 343.96 million tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 4.31 billion tonnes | 1.60 billion tonnes | 2.71 billion tonnes | China |
| 2010s | 10.29 billion tonnes | 1.87 billion tonnes | 8.41 billion tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 15.96 billion tonnes | 2.06 billion tonnes | 13.90 billion tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from cement, China or Japan?
- China, at 17.31 billion tonnes against 2.10 billion tonnes in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from cement between China and Japan?
- 15.20 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Japan?
- 97 years are reported by both, from 1928 to 2024.
- How do China and Japan rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from cement?
- China ranks 1st and Japan ranks 4th of 211 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Cumulative CO₂ emissions from cement. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from cement since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.