Australia vs China: Methane emissions from agriculture

Australia
125.30 million tonnes
in 2023
China
396.71 million tonnes
in 2023
Australia rank
6th
China rank
3rd

Methane emissions from agriculture over time

  • Australia
  • China
100.0M200.0M300.0M400.0M199020062023

How they compare

China currently reports 396.71 million tonnes against 125.30 million tonnes in Australia, a difference of 271.41 million tonnes.

That makes China's figure about 3.2 times Australia's.

Across all 34 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.

Australia ranks 6th and China ranks 3rd of 193 countries.

China has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia China Difference Ahead
1990s 109.58 million tonnes 397.38 million tonnes 287.80 million tonnes China
2000s 109.57 million tonnes 396.91 million tonnes 287.35 million tonnes China
2010s 98.29 million tonnes 379.32 million tonnes 281.04 million tonnes China
2020s 87.06 million tonnes 391.44 million tonnes 304.38 million tonnes China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher methane emissions from agriculture, Australia or China?
China, at 396.71 million tonnes against 125.30 million tonnes in Australia as of 2023.
What is the difference in methane emissions from agriculture between Australia and China?
271.41 million tonnes, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and China?
34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do Australia and China rank globally for methane emissions from agriculture?
Australia ranks 6th and China ranks 3rd of 193 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Methane emissions from agriculture. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Methane emissions from agriculture
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
193 places, 6,559 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents.