Russia vs United States: Methane emissions

Russia
474.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
United States
818.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Russia rank
5th
United States rank
3rd

Methane emissions over time

  • Russia
  • United States
0200.0M400.0M600.0M800.0M1.0B185019372024

How they compare

United States currently reports 818.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 474.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Russia, a difference of 344.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.

That makes United States's figure about 1.7 times Russia's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Russia ahead.

Russia ranks 5th and United States ranks 3rd of 199 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, Russia averaged higher in 1 and United States in 17.

Head to head by decade

Decade Russia United States Difference Ahead
1850s 85.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 81.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 3.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Russia
1860s 95.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 102.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 6.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1870s 107.49 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 124.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 17.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1880s 123.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 152.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 28.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1890s 144.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 184.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 39.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1900s 173.79 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 244.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 70.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1910s 185.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 313.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 128.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1920s 177.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 359.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 181.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1930s 245.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 348.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 102.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1940s 264.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 454.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 189.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1950s 304.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 578.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 273.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1960s 338.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 775.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 436.65 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1970s 358.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 905.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 547.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1980s 436.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 895.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 459.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
1990s 369.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 847.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 477.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
2000s 336.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 779.80 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 442.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
2010s 399.96 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 759.57 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 359.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States
2020s 461.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 797.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 336.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher methane emissions, Russia or United States?
United States, at 818.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 474.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Russia as of 2024.
What is the difference in methane emissions between Russia and United States?
344.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Russia and United States rank globally for methane emissions?
Russia ranks 5th and United States ranks 3rd 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.