Which has higher solid food waste — emissions, China, mainland or OECD?

China, mainland, at 7,850 kt against 5,209 kt in OECD as of 2023.

What is the difference in solid food waste — emissions between China, mainland and OECD?

2,641 kt, with China, mainland ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and OECD?

34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China, mainland vs OECD: Solid Food Waste — Emissions

China, mainland

7,850 kt

in 2023

OECD

5,209 kt

in 2023

China, mainland rank

2nd

OECD rank

3rd

Solid Food Waste — Emissions over time

China, mainland
OECD

How they compare

China, mainland currently reports 7,850 kt against 5,209 kt in OECD, a difference of 2,641 kt.

That makes China, mainland's figure about 1.5 times OECD's.

Across all 34 years both countries report, China, mainland has been ahead every year.

China, mainland ranks 2nd and OECD ranks 3rd of 192 countries.

China, mainland has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China, mainland	OECD	Difference	Ahead
1990s	6,512 kt	4,353 kt	2,159 kt	China, mainland
2000s	7,176 kt	4,879 kt	2,297 kt	China, mainland
2010s	7,613 kt	5,106 kt	2,507 kt	China, mainland
2020s	7,817 kt	5,190 kt	2,628 kt	China, mainland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher solid food waste — emissions, China, mainland or OECD?: China, mainland, at 7,850 kt against 5,209 kt in OECD as of 2023.
What is the difference in solid food waste — emissions between China, mainland and OECD?: 2,641 kt, with China, mainland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and OECD?: 34 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do China, mainland and OECD rank globally for solid food waste — emissions?: China, mainland ranks 2nd and OECD ranks 3rd of 192 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4)
Unit: kt
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 226 places, 7,416 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed: 13 August 2026

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.