Malaysia vs South Africa: Cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil
Malaysia
2.93 billion tonnes
in 2024
South Africa
2.61 billion tonnes
in 2024
Malaysia rank
33rd
South Africa rank
35th
Cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil over time
- Malaysia
- South Africa
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 2.93 billion tonnes against 2.61 billion tonnes in South Africa, a difference of 319.75 million tonnes.
That makes Malaysia's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 134 shared years of data; in 1890 it was South Africa ahead.
Malaysia ranks 33rd and South Africa ranks 35th of 215 countries.
Across the 14 decades both report, Malaysia averaged higher in 7 and South Africa in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malaysia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | — |
| 1900s | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 0 tonnes | — |
| 1910s | 538,242 tonnes | 0 tonnes | 538,242 tonnes | Malaysia |
| 1920s | 8.71 million tonnes | 0 tonnes | 8.71 million tonnes | Malaysia |
| 1930s | 24.58 million tonnes | 0 tonnes | 24.58 million tonnes | Malaysia |
| 1940s | 28.67 million tonnes | 0 tonnes | 28.67 million tonnes | Malaysia |
| 1950s | 57.81 million tonnes | 35.46 million tonnes | 22.35 million tonnes | Malaysia |
| 1960s | 112.08 million tonnes | 141.63 million tonnes | 29.55 million tonnes | South Africa |
| 1970s | 235.89 million tonnes | 392.03 million tonnes | 156.14 million tonnes | South Africa |
| 1980s | 464.47 million tonnes | 782.77 million tonnes | 318.30 million tonnes | South Africa |
| 1990s | 857.04 million tonnes | 1.19 billion tonnes | 331.24 million tonnes | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1.46 billion tonnes | 1.56 billion tonnes | 98.56 million tonnes | South Africa |
| 2010s | 2.19 billion tonnes | 2.09 billion tonnes | 100.40 million tonnes | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 2.78 billion tonnes | 2.50 billion tonnes | 282.48 million tonnes | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cumulative co₂ emissions from oil, Malaysia or South Africa?
- Malaysia, at 2.93 billion tonnes against 2.61 billion tonnes in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cumulative co₂ emissions from oil between Malaysia and South Africa?
- 319.75 million tonnes, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and South Africa?
- 134 years are reported by both, from 1890 to 2024.
- How do Malaysia and South Africa rank globally for cumulative co₂ emissions from oil?
- Malaysia ranks 33rd and South Africa ranks 35th 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.