China, mainland vs United States: Energy — Emissions

China, mainland
26,500 kt
in 2023
United States
15,300 kt
in 2023
China, mainland rank
2nd
United States rank
4th

Energy — Emissions over time

  • China, mainland
  • United States
5.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k25.0k196119922023

How they compare

China, mainland currently reports 26,500 kt against 15,300 kt in United States, a difference of 11,200 kt.

That makes China, mainland's figure about 1.7 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.

China, mainland ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th of 229 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, China, mainland averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade China, mainland United States Difference Ahead
1960s 4,933 kt 11,897 kt 6,963 kt United States
1970s 7,645 kt 13,630 kt 5,985 kt United States
1980s 10,650 kt 13,550 kt 2,900 kt United States
1990s 13,000 kt 13,280 kt 280 kt United States
2000s 16,880 kt 13,340 kt 3,540 kt China, mainland
2010s 22,080 kt 13,550 kt 8,530 kt China, mainland
2020s 24,850 kt 14,400 kt 10,450 kt China, mainland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher energy — emissions, China, mainland or United States?
China, mainland, at 26,500 kt against 15,300 kt in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in energy — emissions between China, mainland and United States?
11,200 kt, with China, mainland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and United States?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do China, mainland and United States rank globally for energy — emissions?
China, mainland ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th of 229 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Energy — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China, mainland vs United States: Energy — Emissions. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/energy-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1/china-mainland/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Energy — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
262 places, 15,109 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf