South Korea vs Taiwan: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry
South Korea
12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Taiwan
12.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
South Korea rank
19th
Taiwan rank
18th
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry over time
- South Korea
- Taiwan
How they compare
Taiwan currently reports 12.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in South Korea, a difference of 0.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was South Korea ahead.
South Korea ranks 19th and Taiwan ranks 18th of 198 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 9 and Taiwan in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Taiwan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0.6785 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2178 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4607 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1860s | 0.6822 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2214 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4608 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1870s | 0.6864 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2288 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4576 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1880s | 0.692 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2381 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4539 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1890s | 0.6983 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.2497 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4486 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1900s | 0.7041 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.3388 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.3653 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1910s | 0.7095 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6593 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.0502 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 1920s | 0.7296 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6494 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1930s | 0.7604 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.5226 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1940s | 0.7939 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.372 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1950s | 0.7354 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.3641 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1960s | 1.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4578 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1970s | 2.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.4626 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1980s | 4.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.0842 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 1990s | 8.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.265 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 2000s | 10.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8735 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
| 2010s | 13.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6175 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | South Korea |
| 2020s | 12.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.103 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Taiwan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry, South Korea or Taiwan?
- Taiwan, at 12.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry between South Korea and Taiwan?
- 0.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with Taiwan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Taiwan?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do South Korea and Taiwan rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry?
- South Korea ranks 19th and Taiwan ranks 18th of 198 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, excluding land use and forestry. 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.