Japan vs United States: Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal
Japan
2.4%
in 2024
United States
4.6%
in 2024
Japan rank
5th
United States rank
3rd
Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal over time
- Japan
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 4.6% against 2.4% in Japan, a difference of 2.2%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.9 times Japan's.
Across all 157 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
Japan ranks 5th and United States ranks 3rd of 179 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 17 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 0.0% | 17.0% | 17.0% | United States |
| 1870s | 0.1% | 19.8% | 19.7% | United States |
| 1880s | 0.3% | 25.7% | 25.4% | United States |
| 1890s | 0.7% | 31.0% | 30.2% | United States |
| 1900s | 1.2% | 37.6% | 36.4% | United States |
| 1910s | 1.9% | 42.3% | 40.5% | United States |
| 1920s | 2.5% | 43.1% | 40.5% | United States |
| 1930s | 3.3% | 33.3% | 30.0% | United States |
| 1940s | 3.0% | 37.5% | 34.5% | United States |
| 1950s | 2.7% | 24.3% | 21.6% | United States |
| 1960s | 3.3% | 20.0% | 16.7% | United States |
| 1970s | 3.4% | 20.1% | 16.7% | United States |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 20.0% | 16.7% | United States |
| 1990s | 3.7% | 21.8% | 18.0% | United States |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 18.9% | 15.3% | United States |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 10.3% | 7.3% | United States |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 5.6% | 3.0% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global co₂ emissions from coal, Japan or United States?
- United States, at 4.6% against 2.4% in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global co₂ emissions from coal between Japan and United States?
- 2.2%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and United States?
- 157 years are reported by both, from 1868 to 2024.
- How do Japan and United States rank globally for share of global co₂ emissions from coal?
- Japan ranks 5th and United States ranks 3rd 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.