China vs United States: Energy — Emissions

China
26,548 kt
in 2023
United States
15,300 kt
in 2023
China rank
1st
United States rank
4th

Energy — Emissions over time

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

How they compare

China currently reports 26,548 kt against 15,300 kt in United States, a difference of 11,248 kt.

That makes China'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 ranks 1st and United States ranks 4th of 229 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade China United States Difference Ahead
1960s 5,010 kt 11,897 kt 6,886 kt United States
1970s 7,713 kt 13,630 kt 5,917 kt United States
1980s 10,703 kt 13,550 kt 2,847 kt United States
1990s 13,043 kt 13,280 kt 237.2 kt United States
2000s 16,936 kt 13,340 kt 3,596 kt China
2010s 22,131 kt 13,550 kt 8,581 kt China
2020s 24,898 kt 14,400 kt 10,498 kt China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher energy — emissions, China or United States?
China, at 26,548 kt against 15,300 kt in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in energy — emissions between China and United States?
11,248 kt, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do China and United States rank globally for energy — emissions?
China ranks 1st 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 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/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