China vs Japan: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil
China
39.19 billion tonnes
in 2024
Japan
34.17 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
2nd
Japan rank
4th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil over time
- China
- Japan
How they compare
China currently reports 39.19 billion tonnes against 34.17 billion tonnes in Japan, a difference of 5.02 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 118 shared years of data; in 1907 it was Japan ahead.
China ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 4th of 215 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and Japan in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 tonnes | 18.80 million tonnes | 18.80 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1910s | 0 tonnes | 25.43 million tonnes | 25.43 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1920s | 9,526 tonnes | 35.02 million tonnes | 35.01 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1930s | 1.77 million tonnes | 43.27 million tonnes | 41.49 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1940s | 11.85 million tonnes | 51.68 million tonnes | 39.83 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1950s | 33.00 million tonnes | 162.36 million tonnes | 129.36 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1960s | 234.07 million tonnes | 1.21 billion tonnes | 973.97 million tonnes | Japan |
| 1970s | 1.33 billion tonnes | 5.72 billion tonnes | 4.40 billion tonnes | Japan |
| 1980s | 3.91 billion tonnes | 11.81 billion tonnes | 7.90 billion tonnes | Japan |
| 1990s | 7.61 billion tonnes | 18.12 billion tonnes | 10.51 billion tonnes | Japan |
| 2000s | 14.07 billion tonnes | 24.75 billion tonnes | 10.69 billion tonnes | Japan |
| 2010s | 24.85 billion tonnes | 30.22 billion tonnes | 5.38 billion tonnes | Japan |
| 2020s | 35.86 billion tonnes | 33.43 billion tonnes | 2.43 billion tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from oil, China or Japan?
- China, at 39.19 billion tonnes against 34.17 billion tonnes in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from oil between China and Japan?
- 5.02 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Japan?
- 118 years are reported by both, from 1907 to 2024.
- How do China and Japan rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from oil?
- China ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 4th 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 oil. 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 oil since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.