Iran vs Saudi Arabia: Cumulative CO₂ emissions by world region
Iran
21.81 billion tonnes
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
19.02 billion tonnes
in 2024
Iran rank
15th
Saudi Arabia rank
18th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions by world region over time
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Iran currently reports 21.81 billion tonnes against 19.02 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 2.79 billion tonnes.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.1 times Saudi Arabia's.
Across all 89 years both countries report, Iran has been ahead every year.
Iran ranks 15th and Saudi Arabia ranks 18th of 215 countries.
Iran has averaged higher in every one of the 10 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 342.23 million tonnes | 542,271 tonnes | 341.69 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1940s | 590.37 million tonnes | 41.75 million tonnes | 548.62 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1950s | 854.43 million tonnes | 130.17 million tonnes | 724.26 million tonnes | Iran |
| 1960s | 1.19 billion tonnes | 179.21 million tonnes | 1.01 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1970s | 2.16 billion tonnes | 699.96 million tonnes | 1.46 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1980s | 3.62 billion tonnes | 2.13 billion tonnes | 1.48 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 1990s | 5.70 billion tonnes | 4.37 billion tonnes | 1.33 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 2000s | 9.35 billion tonnes | 7.53 billion tonnes | 1.82 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 2010s | 14.94 billion tonnes | 12.74 billion tonnes | 2.19 billion tonnes | Iran |
| 2020s | 20.24 billion tonnes | 17.65 billion tonnes | 2.59 billion tonnes | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions by world region, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
- Iran, at 21.81 billion tonnes against 19.02 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions by world region between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 2.79 billion tonnes, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 89 years are reported by both, from 1936 to 2024.
- How do Iran and Saudi Arabia rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions by world region?
- Iran ranks 15th 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 by world region. 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.