Iran vs United States: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring

Iran
1.74 billion tonnes
in 2024
United States
2.47 billion tonnes
in 2024
Iran rank
2nd
United States rank
1st

Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring over time

  • Iran
  • United States
0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B2.5B195019872024

How they compare

United States currently reports 2.47 billion tonnes against 1.74 billion tonnes in Iran, a difference of 723.97 million tonnes.

That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times Iran's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 70 shared years of data; in 1955 it was United States ahead.

Iran ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 215 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 1 and United States in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade Iran United States Difference Ahead
1950s 33.23 million tonnes 338.87 million tonnes 305.64 million tonnes United States
1960s 166.75 million tonnes 543.19 million tonnes 376.44 million tonnes United States
1970s 568.61 million tonnes 727.48 million tonnes 158.87 million tonnes United States
1980s 870.69 million tonnes 798.06 million tonnes 72.64 million tonnes Iran
1990s 1.03 billion tonnes 1.05 billion tonnes 18.76 million tonnes United States
2000s 1.23 billion tonnes 1.42 billion tonnes 195.57 million tonnes United States
2010s 1.45 billion tonnes 1.87 billion tonnes 426.85 million tonnes United States
2020s 1.66 billion tonnes 2.34 billion tonnes 679.31 million tonnes United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring, Iran or United States?
United States, at 2.47 billion tonnes against 1.74 billion tonnes in Iran as of 2024.
What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring between Iran and United States?
723.97 million tonnes, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and United States?
70 years are reported by both, from 1955 to 2024.
How do Iran and United States rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring?
Iran ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st 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 from flaring. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring
Unit
tonnes
Source
Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
215 places, 12,483 data points, 1750–2024
Last refreshed

Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flaring since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.