South Korea vs Uruguay: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions

South Korea
12.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Uruguay
12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
South Korea rank
28th
Uruguay rank
26th

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions over time

  • South Korea
  • Uruguay
010203040185019372024

How they compare

Uruguay currently reports 12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in South Korea, a difference of 0.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Uruguay ahead.

South Korea ranks 28th and Uruguay ranks 26th of 199 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 1 and Uruguay in 17.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Korea Uruguay Difference Ahead
1850s 0.9889 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 40.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 39.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1860s 0.8912 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 38.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 37.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1870s 0.8726 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 31.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 30.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1880s 0.7796 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 32.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 31.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1890s 0.7633 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 30.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 29.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1900s 0.8137 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 23.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 23.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1910s 1.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 20.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 18.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1920s 1.74 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 17.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1930s 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1940s 1.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1950s 1.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1960s 1.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1970s 3.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1980s 5.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
1990s 8.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.908 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
2000s 11.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 1.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
2010s 13.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 1.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Uruguay
2020s 12.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.3801 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person South Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, South Korea or Uruguay?
Uruguay, at 12.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in South Korea as of 2024.
What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions between South Korea and Uruguay?
0.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with Uruguay ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Uruguay?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do South Korea and Uruguay rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
South Korea ranks 28th 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.