Kenya vs Nigeria: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions
Kenya
1.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Nigeria
1.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Kenya rank
175th
Nigeria rank
177th
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions over time
- Kenya
- Nigeria
How they compare
Kenya currently reports 1.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 1.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Nigeria, a difference of 0.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
That makes Kenya's figure about 1.1 times Nigeria's.
The two have swapped places 16 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Kenya ahead.
Kenya ranks 175th and Nigeria ranks 177th of 199 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, Kenya averaged higher in 11 and Nigeria in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Kenya | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.5943 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1860s | 1.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8616 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.9666 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1870s | 1.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.07 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8674 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1880s | 2.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7483 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1890s | 1.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.0307 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 1900s | 0.8392 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8397 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 1910s | 1.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.815 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 1920s | 3.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2154 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1930s | 3.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.5154 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1940s | 4.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.9764 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1950s | 6.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1960s | 4.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4773 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 1970s | 3.09 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 1980s | 3.49 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.1618 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 1990s | 2.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 2000s | 1.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Nigeria |
| 2010s | 2.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.0356 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
| 2020s | 1.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.073 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Kenya |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, Kenya or Nigeria?
- Kenya, at 1.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 1.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Nigeria as of 2024.
- What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions between Kenya and Nigeria?
- 0.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with Kenya ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and Nigeria?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do Kenya and Nigeria rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Kenya ranks 175th and Nigeria ranks 177th 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
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.