Australia vs South Africa: Share of global cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal
Australia
1.2%
in 2024
South Africa
2.3%
in 2024
Australia rank
12th
South Africa rank
9th
Share of global cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 2.3% against 1.2% in Australia, a difference of 1.1%.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.9 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 141 shared years of data; in 1884 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 12th and South Africa ranks 9th of 179 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 7 and South Africa in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 1890s | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 1900s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 1910s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% | Australia |
| 1920s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.1% | Australia |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.1% | Australia |
| 1940s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.0% | Australia |
| 1950s | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.1% | South Africa |
| 1960s | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.2% | South Africa |
| 1970s | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 1.5% | 0.5% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.8% | 0.7% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 2.1% | 0.9% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1.0% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1.1% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global cumulative co₂ emissions from coal, Australia or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 2.3% against 1.2% in Australia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global cumulative co₂ emissions from coal between Australia and South Africa?
- 1.1%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 141 years are reported by both, from 1884 to 2024.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for share of global cumulative co₂ emissions from coal?
- Australia ranks 12th and South Africa ranks 9th 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 cumulative CO₂ emissions from coal. 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 coal since the first year of available data, measured as a percentage of global cumulative emissions of CO₂ from coal.