Nigeria vs Saudi Arabia: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring

Nigeria
1.57 billion tonnes
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
1.07 billion tonnes
in 2024
Nigeria rank
4th
Saudi Arabia rank
6th

Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring over time

  • Nigeria
  • Saudi Arabia
0500.0M1.0B1.5B195019872024

How they compare

Nigeria currently reports 1.57 billion tonnes against 1.07 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 498.92 million tonnes.

That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.5 times Saudi Arabia's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Saudi Arabia ahead.

Nigeria ranks 4th and Saudi Arabia ranks 6th of 215 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 3 and Saudi Arabia in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria Saudi Arabia Difference Ahead
1960s 9.19 million tonnes 12.01 million tonnes 2.82 million tonnes Saudi Arabia
1970s 205.43 million tonnes 360.86 million tonnes 155.43 million tonnes Saudi Arabia
1980s 534.13 million tonnes 838.11 million tonnes 303.98 million tonnes Saudi Arabia
1990s 818.81 million tonnes 915.85 million tonnes 97.04 million tonnes Saudi Arabia
2000s 1.18 billion tonnes 971.85 million tonnes 210.31 million tonnes Nigeria
2010s 1.44 billion tonnes 1.03 billion tonnes 411.94 million tonnes Nigeria
2020s 1.55 billion tonnes 1.06 billion tonnes 484.86 million tonnes Nigeria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia?
Nigeria, at 1.57 billion tonnes against 1.07 billion tonnes in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia?
498.92 million tonnes, with Nigeria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Saudi Arabia?
60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do Nigeria and Saudi Arabia rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring?
Nigeria ranks 4th and Saudi Arabia ranks 6th 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.