China vs India: Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry
China
13.70 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
India
3.57 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 13.70 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 3.57 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India, a difference of 10.13 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
That makes China's figure about 3.8 times India's.
Across all 175 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 198 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 98.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 46.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 51.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1860s | 92.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 49.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 43.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1870s | 91.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 51.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 39.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1880s | 94.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 57.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 37.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1890s | 98.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 65.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 33.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1900s | 112.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 79.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 33.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1910s | 144.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 97.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 46.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1920s | 171.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 108.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 63.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1930s | 199.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 119.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 80.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1940s | 226.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 137.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 89.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1950s | 446.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 167.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 279.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1960s | 799.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 255.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 543.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1970s | 1.52 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 362.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.16 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1980s | 2.43 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 578.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.85 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 1990s | 3.72 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 957.27 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.76 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2000s | 6.44 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.47 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.97 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2010s | 10.94 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.48 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.46 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
| 2020s | 12.98 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.19 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.79 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry, China or India?
- China, at 13.70 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 3.57 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry between China and India?
- 10.13 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.