Iceland vs Uruguay: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions

Iceland
12.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Uruguay
12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Iceland rank
25th
Uruguay rank
26th

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions over time

  • Iceland
  • Uruguay
010203040185019372024

How they compare

Iceland currently reports 12.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Uruguay, a difference of 0.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Uruguay ahead.

Iceland ranks 25th and Uruguay ranks 26th of 199 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 11 and Uruguay in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade Iceland Uruguay Difference Ahead
1850s 12.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 40.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 28.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1860s 8.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 38.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 30.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1870s 6.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 31.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 25.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1880s 5.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 32.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 27.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1890s 4.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 30.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 26.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1900s 2.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 23.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 21.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1910s 14.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 20.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1920s 18.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 17.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 1.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1930s 20.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1940s 23.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1950s 32.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 17.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1960s 24.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1970s 16.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 7.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1980s 13.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
1990s 14.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
2000s 14.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 2.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
2010s 14.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.2697 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland
2020s 12.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.6672 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Iceland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, Iceland or Uruguay?
Iceland, at 12.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Uruguay as of 2024.
What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions between Iceland and Uruguay?
0.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with Iceland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Uruguay?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Iceland and Uruguay rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
Iceland ranks 25th and Uruguay ranks 26th of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions
Unit
tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Source
Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 34,079 data points, 1850–2024
Last refreshed

Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.