Iran vs Saudi Arabia: Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population
Iran
2.1%
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
1.8%
in 2024
Iran rank
7th
Saudi Arabia rank
8th
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population over time
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Iran currently reports 2.1% against 1.8% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 0.3%.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.1 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 89 shared years of data; in 1936 it was Iran ahead.
Iran ranks 7th and Saudi Arabia ranks 8th of 215 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 9 and Saudi Arabia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.7% | Iran |
| 1940s | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.6% | Iran |
| 1950s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | Iran |
| 1960s | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.4% | Iran |
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% | Iran |
| 1980s | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.1% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.1% | Iran |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.2% | Iran |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 0.1% | Iran |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 0.3% | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
- Iran, at 2.1% against 1.8% in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 0.3%, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 89 years are reported by both, from 1936 to 2024.
- How do Iran and Saudi Arabia rank globally for share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population?
- Iran ranks 7th and Saudi Arabia ranks 8th of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured as a percentage of global emissions of CO₂ in the same year.