Italy vs North Korea: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal
Italy
4.80 billion tonnes
in 2024
North Korea
5.06 billion tonnes
in 2024
Italy rank
23rd
North Korea rank
21st
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal over time
- Italy
- North Korea
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 5.06 billion tonnes against 4.80 billion tonnes in Italy, a difference of 259.79 million tonnes.
That makes North Korea's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 113 shared years of data; in 1905 it was Italy ahead.
Italy ranks 23rd and North Korea ranks 21st of 179 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Italy averaged higher in 9 and North Korea in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | North Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 374.26 million tonnes | 88,515 tonnes | 374.17 million tonnes | Italy |
| 1910s | 551.80 million tonnes | 1.82 million tonnes | 549.99 million tonnes | Italy |
| 1920s | 796.24 million tonnes | 9.73 million tonnes | 786.51 million tonnes | Italy |
| 1930s | 1.13 billion tonnes | 38.25 million tonnes | 1.09 billion tonnes | Italy |
| 1940s | 1.42 billion tonnes | 126.06 million tonnes | 1.29 billion tonnes | Italy |
| 1950s | 1.67 billion tonnes | 171.98 million tonnes | 1.50 billion tonnes | Italy |
| 1960s | 1.97 billion tonnes | 396.70 million tonnes | 1.57 billion tonnes | Italy |
| 1970s | 2.28 billion tonnes | 1.11 billion tonnes | 1.17 billion tonnes | Italy |
| 1980s | 2.71 billion tonnes | 2.22 billion tonnes | 488.39 million tonnes | Italy |
| 1990s | 3.28 billion tonnes | 3.39 billion tonnes | 110.14 million tonnes | North Korea |
| 2000s | 3.87 billion tonnes | 4.04 billion tonnes | 165.94 million tonnes | North Korea |
| 2010s | 4.48 billion tonnes | 4.57 billion tonnes | 84.98 million tonnes | North Korea |
| 2020s | 4.76 billion tonnes | 4.95 billion tonnes | 189.18 million tonnes | North Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from coal, Italy or North Korea?
- North Korea, at 5.06 billion tonnes against 4.80 billion tonnes in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from coal between Italy and North Korea?
- 259.79 million tonnes, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and North Korea?
- 113 years are reported by both, from 1905 to 2024.
- How do Italy and North Korea rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from coal?
- Italy ranks 23rd and North Korea ranks 21st of 179 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 coal. 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 coal since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.