China vs United States: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from gas
China
9.63 billion tonnes
in 2024
United States
82.47 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
3rd
United States rank
1st
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from gas over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 82.47 billion tonnes against 9.63 billion tonnes in China, a difference of 72.84 billion tonnes.
That makes United States's figure about 8.6 times China's.
Across all 118 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st of 146 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 tonnes | 281.61 million tonnes | 281.61 million tonnes | United States |
| 1910s | 0 tonnes | 463.07 million tonnes | 463.07 million tonnes | United States |
| 1920s | 0 tonnes | 888.30 million tonnes | 888.30 million tonnes | United States |
| 1930s | 0 tonnes | 1.71 billion tonnes | 1.71 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1940s | 0 tonnes | 3.14 billion tonnes | 3.14 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1950s | 239,258 tonnes | 6.45 billion tonnes | 6.45 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1960s | 13.88 million tonnes | 12.76 billion tonnes | 12.75 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1970s | 93.43 million tonnes | 22.64 billion tonnes | 22.55 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1980s | 325.42 million tonnes | 32.60 billion tonnes | 32.28 billion tonnes | United States |
| 1990s | 642.75 million tonnes | 42.71 billion tonnes | 42.07 billion tonnes | United States |
| 2000s | 1.27 billion tonnes | 54.46 billion tonnes | 53.19 billion tonnes | United States |
| 2010s | 3.57 billion tonnes | 67.36 billion tonnes | 63.80 billion tonnes | United States |
| 2020s | 7.96 billion tonnes | 79.03 billion tonnes | 71.07 billion tonnes | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from gas, China or United States?
- United States, at 82.47 billion tonnes against 9.63 billion tonnes in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from gas between China and United States?
- 72.84 billion tonnes, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 118 years are reported by both, from 1907 to 2024.
- How do China and United States rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from gas?
- China ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st of 146 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 gas. 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 gas since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.