Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in Australia
Australia: Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita was 0.2338 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in Australia, 1990–2024
Source: Joint Research Centre (European Commission) and International Energy Agency (IEA), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in Australia is 0.2338, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in Australia peaked at 0.4572 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0.2333, in 2023.
Australia ranks 29th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.4487 | — |
| 1991 | 0.4537 | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 0.4572 | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 0.4455 | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 0.4365 | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 0.4349 | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 0.4326 | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 0.4292 | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 0.4351 | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 0.4215 | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 0.4124 | -2.2% |
| 2001 | 0.4116 | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 0.405 | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 0.3923 | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 0.3906 | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.3808 | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 0.3764 | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 0.3724 | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 0.3626 | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 0.3609 | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.3574 | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 0.347 | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.3342 | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 0.3196 | -4.4% |
| 2014 | 0.3043 | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 0.301 | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.2988 | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 0.294 | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 0.2844 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 0.2774 | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 0.2673 | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 0.2568 | -3.9% |
| 2022 | 0.2421 | -5.7% |
| 2023 | 0.2333 | -3.6% |
| 2024 | 0.2338 | +0.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.2338 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1118, 2.1× the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.2338 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1652, 1.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4395 | 0.4215 | 0.4572 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3865 | 0.3609 | 0.4124 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3118 | 0.2774 | 0.3574 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2466 | 0.2333 | 0.2673 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More climate change data for Australia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 1.30 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 118,578 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 34,162 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 84,416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 128.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3,015 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,473 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 10,966 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,507 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 41.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in Australia?
- Carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in Australia was 0.2338 in 2024, according to Joint Research Centre (European Commission) and International Energy Agency (IEA), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4572 in 1992.
- What is the lowest carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2333 in 2023.
- How does Australia rank for carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita?
- Australia ranks 29th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Joint Research Centre (European Commission) and International Energy Agency (IEA), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Carbon emission intensity is measured in kilograms of CO₂ per dollar of GDP. Emissions from fossil fuels and industry are included, but land-use change emissions are not. GDP per capita is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.