Colombia vs South Africa: Methane emissions

Colombia
91.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
South Africa
79.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Colombia rank
21st
South Africa rank
22nd

Methane emissions over time

  • Colombia
  • South Africa
020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M185019372024

How they compare

Colombia currently reports 91.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 79.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in South Africa, a difference of 12.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.

That makes Colombia's figure about 1.2 times South Africa's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Colombia ahead.

Colombia ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 22nd of 199 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, Colombia averaged higher in 14 and South Africa in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade Colombia South Africa Difference Ahead
1850s 3.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 731,473 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1860s 4.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1870s 4.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1880s 5.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.83 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1890s 6.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1900s 8.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 5.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1910s 9.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 8.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 1.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1920s 13.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 10.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 2.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1930s 16.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 12.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.26 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1940s 22.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 18.49 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1950s 31.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 27.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1960s 40.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 36.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1970s 51.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 43.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 7.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia
1980s 58.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 61.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents South Africa
1990s 69.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 73.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents South Africa
2000s 76.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 80.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents South Africa
2010s 82.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 86.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 4.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents South Africa
2020s 89.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 81.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 8.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Colombia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher methane emissions, Colombia or South Africa?
Colombia, at 91.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 79.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in methane emissions between Colombia and South Africa?
12.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with Colombia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and South Africa?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Colombia and South Africa rank globally for methane emissions?
Colombia ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 22nd 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

Indicator
Methane emissions
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

Measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.