Japan vs South Africa: Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal
Japan
2.4%
in 2024
South Africa
2.3%
in 2024
Japan rank
5th
South Africa rank
7th
Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal over time
- Japan
- South Africa
How they compare
Japan currently reports 2.4% against 2.3% in South Africa, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 141 shared years of data; in 1884 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 7th of 179 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 14 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.4% | Japan |
| 1890s | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.6% | Japan |
| 1900s | 1.2% | 0.4% | 0.8% | Japan |
| 1910s | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | Japan |
| 1920s | 2.5% | 0.9% | 1.7% | Japan |
| 1930s | 3.3% | 1.0% | 2.3% | Japan |
| 1940s | 3.0% | 1.4% | 1.6% | Japan |
| 1950s | 2.7% | 1.6% | 1.1% | Japan |
| 1960s | 3.3% | 2.0% | 1.3% | Japan |
| 1970s | 3.4% | 2.4% | 1.0% | Japan |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 3.3% | 0.0% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 3.7% | 3.5% | 0.2% | Japan |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.3% | 0.3% | Japan |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 0.4% | Japan |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 0.2% | 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 Africa?
- Japan, at 2.4% against 2.3% in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global co₂ emissions from coal between Japan and South Africa?
- 0.1%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Africa?
- 141 years are reported by both, from 1884 to 2024.
- How do Japan and South Africa rank globally for share of global co₂ emissions from coal?
- Japan ranks 5th and South Africa ranks 7th 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.