Nigeria vs United States: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring

Nigeria
1.57 billion tonnes
in 2024
United States
2.47 billion tonnes
in 2024
Nigeria rank
4th
United States rank
1st

Cumulative CO₂ emissions from flaring over time

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

How they compare

United States currently reports 2.47 billion tonnes against 1.57 billion tonnes in Nigeria, a difference of 895.90 million tonnes.

That makes United States's figure about 1.6 times Nigeria's.

Across all 60 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

Nigeria ranks 4th and United States ranks 1st of 215 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Nigeria United States Difference Ahead
1960s 9.19 million tonnes 543.19 million tonnes 534.00 million tonnes United States
1970s 205.43 million tonnes 727.48 million tonnes 522.05 million tonnes United States
1980s 534.13 million tonnes 794.87 million tonnes 260.75 million tonnes United States
1990s 818.81 million tonnes 1.13 billion tonnes 310.74 million tonnes United States
2000s 1.18 billion tonnes 1.42 billion tonnes 240.33 million tonnes United States
2010s 1.44 billion tonnes 1.87 billion tonnes 430.70 million tonnes United States
2020s 1.55 billion tonnes 2.34 billion tonnes 797.21 million tonnes United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring, Nigeria or United States?
United States, at 2.47 billion tonnes against 1.57 billion tonnes in Nigeria as of 2024.
What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring between Nigeria and United States?
895.90 million tonnes, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and United States?
60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do Nigeria and United States rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from flaring?
Nigeria ranks 4th 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.