India vs United States: Greenhouse gas emissions
India
4.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
United States
6.05 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
India rank
3rd
United States rank
2nd
Greenhouse gas emissions over time
- India
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 6.05 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 4.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India, a difference of 1.79 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times India's.
Across all 175 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
India ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | India | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 317.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 927.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 610.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1860s | 300.26 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 907.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 607.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1870s | 312.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.47 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.15 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1880s | 341.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.70 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.36 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1890s | 366.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.05 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.69 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1900s | 374.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.53 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.16 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1910s | 392.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.96 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.56 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1920s | 562.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.20 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.64 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1930s | 652.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.68 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.03 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1940s | 737.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.48 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.74 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1950s | 944.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.82 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.87 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1960s | 936.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.66 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.72 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1970s | 1.04 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.06 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.02 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1980s | 1.30 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.98 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.68 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 1990s | 1.72 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.69 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.97 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 2000s | 2.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.11 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.86 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 2010s | 3.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.47 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.21 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
| 2020s | 3.88 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.04 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.17 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher greenhouse gas emissions, India or United States?
- United States, at 6.05 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 4.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in India as of 2024.
- What is the difference in greenhouse gas emissions between India and United States?
- 1.79 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and United States?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do India and United States rank globally for greenhouse gas emissions?
- India ranks 3rd and United States ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Greenhouse gas emissions. 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.