Japan vs Saudi Arabia: Greenhouse gas emissions

Japan
1.01 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
821.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
Japan rank
8th
Saudi Arabia rank
9th

Greenhouse gas emissions over time

  • Japan
  • Saudi Arabia
0500.0M1.0B1.5B185019372024

How they compare

Japan currently reports 1.01 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 821.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 185.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.2 times Saudi Arabia's.

Across all 175 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.

Japan ranks 8th and Saudi Arabia ranks 9th of 199 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Saudi Arabia Difference Ahead
1850s 22.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents -269,787 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 23.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1860s 24.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 163,210 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 24.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1870s 28.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 299,190 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 28.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1880s 37.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 359,468 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 37.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1890s 54.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 387,949 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 54.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1900s 83.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 384,940 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 83.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1910s 122.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 372,675 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 121.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1920s 160.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 379,992 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 159.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1930s 196.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 991,838 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 195.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1940s 221.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 36.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 185.02 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1950s 276.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 7.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 269.51 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1960s 532.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 26.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 506.02 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1970s 990.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 145.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 844.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1980s 1.02 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 233.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 783.91 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
1990s 1.27 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 320.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 954.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
2000s 1.30 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 482.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 819.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
2010s 1.26 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 723.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 536.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan
2020s 1.06 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 800.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents 260.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher greenhouse gas emissions, Japan or Saudi Arabia?
Japan, at 1.01 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalents against 821.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
What is the difference in greenhouse gas emissions between Japan and Saudi Arabia?
185.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Saudi Arabia?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Japan and Saudi Arabia rank globally for greenhouse gas emissions?
Japan ranks 8th and Saudi Arabia ranks 9th 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

Indicator
Greenhouse gas emissions
Unit
tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Source
Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 34,825 data points, 1850–2024
Last refreshed

Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.