China vs United States: Waste — Emissions

China
13,254 kt
in 2023
United States
4,940 kt
in 2023
China rank
2nd
United States rank
4th

Waste — Emissions over time

  • China
  • United States
2.5k5.0k7.5k10.0k12.5k196119922023

How they compare

China currently reports 13,254 kt against 4,940 kt in United States, a difference of 8,314 kt.

That makes China's figure about 2.7 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.

China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th of 232 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade China United States Difference Ahead
1960s 2,846 kt 6,290 kt 3,444 kt United States
1970s 3,401 kt 8,172 kt 4,771 kt United States
1980s 4,024 kt 8,550 kt 4,526 kt United States
1990s 4,818 kt 7,712 kt 2,894 kt United States
2000s 6,657 kt 5,509 kt 1,148 kt China
2010s 10,222 kt 4,728 kt 5,494 kt China
2020s 12,680 kt 4,902 kt 7,777 kt China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher waste — emissions, China or United States?
China, at 13,254 kt against 4,940 kt in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in waste — emissions between China and United States?
8,314 kt, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do China and United States rank globally for waste — emissions?
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 4th of 232 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs United States: Waste — Emissions. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/waste-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1/china/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
265 places, 15,268 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood 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). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf