Canada vs China: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from land-use change
Canada
40.40 billion tonnes
in 2024
China
81.69 billion tonnes
in 2024
Canada rank
7th
China rank
4th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from land-use change over time
- Canada
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 81.69 billion tonnes against 40.40 billion tonnes in Canada, a difference of 41.30 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 2.0 times Canada's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was China ahead.
Canada ranks 7th and China ranks 4th of 197 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 6 and China in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 447.37 million tonnes | 979.21 million tonnes | 531.84 million tonnes | China |
| 1860s | 1.50 billion tonnes | 2.21 billion tonnes | 704.83 million tonnes | China |
| 1870s | 2.74 billion tonnes | 2.67 billion tonnes | 76.67 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1880s | 4.04 billion tonnes | 3.28 billion tonnes | 761.23 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1890s | 5.39 billion tonnes | 4.61 billion tonnes | 777.02 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1900s | 7.25 billion tonnes | 6.76 billion tonnes | 491.65 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1910s | 10.35 billion tonnes | 9.88 billion tonnes | 463.93 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1920s | 13.83 billion tonnes | 13.60 billion tonnes | 222.53 million tonnes | Canada |
| 1930s | 17.05 billion tonnes | 18.16 billion tonnes | 1.11 billion tonnes | China |
| 1940s | 19.96 billion tonnes | 24.76 billion tonnes | 4.80 billion tonnes | China |
| 1950s | 23.31 billion tonnes | 34.62 billion tonnes | 11.31 billion tonnes | China |
| 1960s | 27.34 billion tonnes | 44.08 billion tonnes | 16.74 billion tonnes | China |
| 1970s | 30.21 billion tonnes | 56.32 billion tonnes | 26.11 billion tonnes | China |
| 1980s | 32.76 billion tonnes | 67.71 billion tonnes | 34.95 billion tonnes | China |
| 1990s | 35.20 billion tonnes | 76.00 billion tonnes | 40.79 billion tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 37.58 billion tonnes | 82.40 billion tonnes | 44.82 billion tonnes | China |
| 2010s | 39.15 billion tonnes | 83.80 billion tonnes | 44.65 billion tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 40.16 billion tonnes | 82.31 billion tonnes | 42.15 billion tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from land-use change, Canada or China?
- China, at 81.69 billion tonnes against 40.40 billion tonnes in Canada as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from land-use change between Canada and China?
- 41.30 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and China?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do Canada and China rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from land-use change?
- Canada ranks 7th and China ranks 4th of 197 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 land-use change. 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 land-use change since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.