Australia vs South Africa: Share of global greenhouse gas emissions
Australia
1.1%
in 2024
South Africa
1.0%
in 2024
Australia rank
16th
South Africa rank
18th
Share of global greenhouse gas emissions over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 1.1% against 1.0% in South Africa, a difference of 0.1%.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 16th and South Africa ranks 18th of 199 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.9% | Australia |
| 1860s | 1.3% | 0.1% | 1.2% | Australia |
| 1870s | 1.5% | 0.2% | 1.2% | Australia |
| 1880s | 1.5% | 0.2% | 1.3% | Australia |
| 1890s | 1.5% | 0.3% | 1.2% | Australia |
| 1900s | 1.4% | 0.4% | 1.1% | Australia |
| 1910s | 1.5% | 0.5% | 1.0% | Australia |
| 1920s | 1.8% | 0.6% | 1.3% | Australia |
| 1930s | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.8% | Australia |
| 1940s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.5% | Australia |
| 1950s | 1.6% | 0.9% | 0.7% | Australia |
| 1960s | 1.7% | 0.9% | 0.9% | Australia |
| 1970s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.5% | Australia |
| 1980s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 0.4% | Australia |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 0.4% | Australia |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.1% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global greenhouse gas emissions, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 1.1% against 1.0% in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global greenhouse gas emissions between Australia and South Africa?
- 0.1%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for share of global greenhouse gas emissions?
- Australia ranks 16th and South Africa ranks 18th of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured as a percentage of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.