Japan vs South Korea: Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal
Japan
2.4%
in 2024
South Korea
1.6%
in 2024
Japan rank
5th
South Korea rank
8th
Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 2.4% against 1.6% in South Korea, a difference of 0.8%.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.5 times South Korea's.
Across all 115 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 5th and South Korea ranks 8th of 179 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1.3% | 0.0% | 1.3% | Japan |
| 1910s | 1.8% | 0.0% | 1.8% | Japan |
| 1920s | 2.5% | 0.0% | 2.5% | Japan |
| 1930s | 3.3% | 0.0% | 3.3% | Japan |
| 1940s | 3.0% | 0.0% | 3.0% | Japan |
| 1950s | 2.7% | 0.1% | 2.6% | Japan |
| 1960s | 3.3% | 0.3% | 2.9% | Japan |
| 1970s | 3.4% | 0.5% | 2.9% | Japan |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 1.0% | 2.3% | Japan |
| 1990s | 3.7% | 1.3% | 2.4% | Japan |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 1.9% | 1.8% | Japan |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 2.2% | 0.8% | Japan |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 1.8% | 0.8% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global co₂ emissions from coal, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 2.4% against 1.6% in South Korea as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global co₂ emissions from coal between Japan and South Korea?
- 0.8%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 115 years are reported by both, from 1905 to 2024.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for share of global co₂ emissions from coal?
- Japan ranks 5th and South Korea ranks 8th of 179 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 from coal. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal, measured as a percentage of global emissions of CO₂ from coal in the same year.