China vs India: Methane emissions
China
1.59 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
India
859.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
China rank
1st
India rank
2nd
Methane emissions over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 1.59 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 859.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India, a difference of 731.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
That makes China's figure about 1.9 times India's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was China ahead.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, China averaged higher in 14 and India in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 243.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 204.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 39.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1860s | 226.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 212.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1870s | 222.79 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 219.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1880s | 229.49 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 230.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 643,300 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | India |
| 1890s | 239.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 243.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | India |
| 1900s | 253.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 242.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1910s | 275.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 240.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 34.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1920s | 298.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 255.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 43.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1930s | 315.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 288.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 26.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1940s | 333.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 336.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.02 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | India |
| 1950s | 392.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 393.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 615,400 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | India |
| 1960s | 495.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 461.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 34.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1970s | 649.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 510.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 139.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1980s | 767.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 603.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 164.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1990s | 910.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 660.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 250.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2000s | 1.08 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 719.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 359.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2010s | 1.32 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 780.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 544.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2020s | 1.50 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 834.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 664.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher methane emissions, China or India?
- China, at 1.59 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 859.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in methane emissions between China and India?
- 731.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for methane emissions?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Methane emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.