China vs India: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from land-use change
China
81.69 billion tonnes
in 2024
India
42.04 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
4th
India rank
6th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from land-use change over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 81.69 billion tonnes against 42.04 billion tonnes in India, a difference of 39.66 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 1.9 times India's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was India ahead.
China ranks 4th and India ranks 6th of 197 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, China averaged higher in 14 and India in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 979.21 million tonnes | 1.01 billion tonnes | 28.24 million tonnes | India |
| 1860s | 2.21 billion tonnes | 2.20 billion tonnes | 5.29 million tonnes | China |
| 1870s | 2.67 billion tonnes | 3.25 billion tonnes | 581.86 million tonnes | India |
| 1880s | 3.28 billion tonnes | 4.33 billion tonnes | 1.05 billion tonnes | India |
| 1890s | 4.61 billion tonnes | 5.46 billion tonnes | 848.90 million tonnes | India |
| 1900s | 6.76 billion tonnes | 6.53 billion tonnes | 229.28 million tonnes | China |
| 1910s | 9.88 billion tonnes | 7.53 billion tonnes | 2.36 billion tonnes | China |
| 1920s | 13.60 billion tonnes | 9.95 billion tonnes | 3.65 billion tonnes | China |
| 1930s | 18.16 billion tonnes | 14.41 billion tonnes | 3.75 billion tonnes | China |
| 1940s | 24.76 billion tonnes | 19.31 billion tonnes | 5.45 billion tonnes | China |
| 1950s | 34.62 billion tonnes | 25.47 billion tonnes | 9.15 billion tonnes | China |
| 1960s | 44.08 billion tonnes | 31.20 billion tonnes | 12.88 billion tonnes | China |
| 1970s | 56.32 billion tonnes | 34.30 billion tonnes | 22.02 billion tonnes | China |
| 1980s | 67.71 billion tonnes | 36.71 billion tonnes | 31.00 billion tonnes | China |
| 1990s | 76.00 billion tonnes | 38.46 billion tonnes | 37.54 billion tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 82.40 billion tonnes | 39.75 billion tonnes | 42.65 billion tonnes | China |
| 2010s | 83.80 billion tonnes | 41.17 billion tonnes | 42.63 billion tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 82.31 billion tonnes | 41.99 billion tonnes | 40.33 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, China or India?
- China, at 81.69 billion tonnes against 42.04 billion tonnes in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from land-use change between China and India?
- 39.66 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from land-use change?
- China ranks 4th and India ranks 6th 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.