Iceland vs Lesotho: Annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region

Iceland
5.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Lesotho
6.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Iceland rank
161st
Lesotho rank
158th

Annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region over time

  • Iceland
  • Lesotho
02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M185019372024

How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 6.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 5.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Iceland, a difference of 1.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.

That makes Lesotho's figure about 1.2 times Iceland's.

The two have swapped places 13 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Iceland ahead.

Iceland ranks 161st and Lesotho ranks 158th of 199 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 11 and Lesotho in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade Iceland Lesotho Difference Ahead
1850s 771,706 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 189,417 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 582,290 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1860s 564,004 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 236,465 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 327,539 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1870s 440,616 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 316,311 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 124,305 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1880s 372,704 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 384,942 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 12,238 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
1890s 303,089 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 453,687 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 150,598 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
1900s 225,448 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 637,996 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 412,547 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
1910s 1.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 849,715 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 492,873 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1920s 1.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 689,505 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1930s 2.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3,924 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1940s 3.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 714,857 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1950s 5.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.27 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1960s 4.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1970s 3.51 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1980s 3.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 853,316 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Iceland
1990s 3.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 404,477 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
2000s 4.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 5.49 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
2010s 4.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 6.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho
2020s 4.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 6.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Lesotho

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region, Iceland or Lesotho?
Lesotho, at 6.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 5.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Iceland as of 2024.
What is the difference in annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region between Iceland and Lesotho?
1.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with Lesotho ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Lesotho?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Iceland and Lesotho rank globally for annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region?
Iceland ranks 161st and Lesotho ranks 158th of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Annual greenhouse gas emissions by world region
Unit
tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Source
Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 34,825 data points, 1850–2024
Last refreshed

Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.