China, mainland vs United States: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq)

China, mainland
386,535 kt
in 2023
United States
147,890 kt
in 2023
China, mainland rank
3rd
United States rank
4th

Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) over time

  • China, mainland
  • United States
100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k196119922023

How they compare

China, mainland currently reports 386,535 kt against 147,890 kt in United States, a difference of 238,645 kt.

That makes China, mainland's figure about 2.6 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, mainland ranks 3rd and United States ranks 4th of 232 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade China, mainland United States Difference Ahead
1960s 82,588 kt 179,859 kt 97,272 kt United States
1970s 99,234 kt 233,307 kt 134,073 kt United States
1980s 117,873 kt 244,472 kt 126,598 kt United States
1990s 142,136 kt 222,272 kt 80,136 kt United States
2000s 194,745 kt 162,036 kt 32,710 kt China, mainland
2010s 298,444 kt 140,857 kt 157,588 kt China, mainland
2020s 369,761 kt 146,641 kt 223,120 kt China, mainland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher waste — emissions (co2eq), China, mainland or United States?
China, mainland, at 386,535 kt against 147,890 kt in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in waste — emissions (co2eq) between China, mainland and United States?
238,645 kt, with China, mainland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and United States?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do China, mainland and United States rank globally for waste — emissions (co2eq)?
China, mainland ranks 3rd 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 (CO2eq) (AR5). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China, mainland vs United States: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq). Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/waste-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/china-mainland/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5)
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