South Korea vs Saudi Arabia: Cumulative CO₂ emissions by world region
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 by world region 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 by world region, 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 by world region 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 by world region?
- 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 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.