China vs United States: Cumulative CO₂ emissions by source
China
5.52 billion tonnes
in 2024
United States
5.43 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
1st
United States rank
2nd
Cumulative CO₂ emissions by source over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 5.52 billion tonnes against 5.43 billion tonnes in United States, a difference of 91.41 million tonnes.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 46 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 121.21 million tonnes | 242.91 million tonnes | 121.70 million tonnes | United States |
| 1970s | 424.59 million tonnes | 370.00 million tonnes | 54.59 million tonnes | China |
| 1980s | 821.79 million tonnes | 491.45 million tonnes | 330.34 million tonnes | China |
| 1990s | 1.53 billion tonnes | 1.27 billion tonnes | 256.48 million tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 2.46 billion tonnes | 2.77 billion tonnes | 311.09 million tonnes | United States |
| 2010s | 3.79 billion tonnes | 4.14 billion tonnes | 349.26 million tonnes | United States |
| 2020s | 5.14 billion tonnes | 5.16 billion tonnes | 11.44 million tonnes | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions by source, China or United States?
- China, at 5.52 billion tonnes against 5.43 billion tonnes in United States as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions by source between China and United States?
- 91.41 million tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do China and United States rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions by source?
- China ranks 1st and United States ranks 2nd of 46 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 source. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from other industry sources since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.