China vs United States: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq)

China
402,662 kt
in 2023
United States
147,890 kt
in 2023
China rank
2nd
United States rank
4th

Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) over time

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

How they compare

China currently reports 402,662 kt against 147,890 kt in United States, a difference of 254,772 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 85,573 kt 179,859 kt 94,287 kt United States
1970s 103,762 kt 233,307 kt 129,545 kt United States
1980s 124,699 kt 244,472 kt 119,772 kt United States
1990s 151,637 kt 222,272 kt 70,636 kt United States
2000s 207,418 kt 162,036 kt 45,382 kt China
2010s 313,478 kt 140,857 kt 172,621 kt China
2020s 385,881 kt 146,641 kt 239,240 kt China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher waste — emissions (co2eq), China or United States?
China, at 402,662 kt against 147,890 kt in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in waste — emissions (co2eq) between China and United States?
254,772 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 (co2eq)?
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 (CO2eq) (AR5). 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 (CO2eq). Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/waste-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/china/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