China vs India: Kaya identity: drivers of CO₂ emissions
China
12.29 billion tonnes
in 2024
India
3.19 billion tonnes
in 2024
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Kaya identity: drivers of CO₂ emissions over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 12.29 billion tonnes against 3.19 billion tonnes in India, a difference of 9.10 billion tonnes.
That makes China's figure about 3.8 times India's.
Across all 60 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 215 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 522.64 million tonnes | 164.82 million tonnes | 357.82 million tonnes | China |
| 1970s | 1.15 billion tonnes | 227.90 million tonnes | 921.13 million tonnes | China |
| 1980s | 1.94 billion tonnes | 395.75 million tonnes | 1.54 billion tonnes | China |
| 1990s | 3.11 billion tonnes | 751.91 million tonnes | 2.36 billion tonnes | China |
| 2000s | 5.62 billion tonnes | 1.22 billion tonnes | 4.40 billion tonnes | China |
| 2010s | 9.85 billion tonnes | 2.17 billion tonnes | 7.68 billion tonnes | China |
| 2020s | 11.67 billion tonnes | 2.84 billion tonnes | 8.83 billion tonnes | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher kaya identity: drivers of co₂ emissions, China or India?
- China, at 12.29 billion tonnes against 3.19 billion tonnes in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in kaya identity: drivers of co₂ emissions between China and India?
- 9.10 billion tonnes, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 60 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for kaya identity: drivers of co₂ emissions?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Kaya identity: drivers of CO₂ emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes.