China vs United States: Share of cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil
China
6.1%
in 2024
United States
25.9%
in 2024
China rank
2nd
United States rank
1st
Share of cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 25.9% against 6.1% in China, a difference of 19.8%.
That makes United States's figure about 4.2 times China's.
Across all 118 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 215 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0% | 48.6% | 48.6% | United States |
| 1910s | 0.0% | 52.6% | 52.6% | United States |
| 1920s | 0.0% | 59.5% | 59.5% | United States |
| 1930s | 0.0% | 62.4% | 62.4% | United States |
| 1940s | 0.1% | 62.5% | 62.4% | United States |
| 1950s | 0.1% | 60.2% | 60.2% | United States |
| 1960s | 0.3% | 51.0% | 50.7% | United States |
| 1970s | 0.9% | 40.8% | 39.8% | United States |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 34.7% | 32.9% | United States |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 31.4% | 29.0% | United States |
| 2000s | 3.4% | 29.4% | 26.1% | United States |
| 2010s | 4.7% | 27.5% | 22.8% | United States |
| 2020s | 5.8% | 26.2% | 20.4% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of cumulative co₂ emissions from oil, China or United States?
- United States, at 25.9% against 6.1% in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of cumulative co₂ emissions from oil between China and United States?
- 19.8%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 118 years are reported by both, from 1907 to 2024.
- How do China and United States rank globally for share of cumulative co₂ emissions from oil?
- China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st 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 cumulative CO₂ emissions from oil. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from oil since the first year of available data, measured as a percentage of global cumulative emissions of CO₂ from oil.