Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in China
China: Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita was 0.3907 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in China, 1990–2024
Source: Joint Research Centre (European Commission) and International Energy Agency (IEA), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 0.3907 for carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 31.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in China peaked at 1.28 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.3907, in 2024.
China ranks 13th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Carbon emission intensity vs. GDP per capita in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.28 | — |
| 1991 | 1.23 | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 1.13 | -8.4% |
| 1993 | 1.07 | -5.0% |
| 1994 | 0.9998 | -6.8% |
| 1995 | 0.9949 | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 0.8978 | -9.8% |
| 1997 | 0.8453 | -5.8% |
| 1998 | 0.8025 | -5.1% |
| 1999 | 0.7292 | -9.1% |
| 2000 | 0.7106 | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 0.6878 | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 0.6804 | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 0.7136 | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 0.746 | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 0.7594 | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 0.7483 | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 0.7122 | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 0.6693 | -6.0% |
| 2009 | 0.6565 | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 0.6498 | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 0.649 | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.6208 | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 0.6034 | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.5678 | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 0.5244 | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 0.4922 | -6.1% |
| 2017 | 0.4701 | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 0.4615 | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 0.4459 | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4412 | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 0.4264 | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 0.4123 | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 0.4068 | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 0.3907 | -4.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.3907 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1548, 2.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 0.3907 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1652, 2.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.9979 | 0.7292 | 1.28 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7084 | 0.6565 | 0.7594 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5485 | 0.4459 | 0.6498 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4155 | 0.3907 | 0.4412 | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 31.25 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in China?
- Carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita in China was 0.3907 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.28 in 1990.
- What is the lowest carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3907 in 2024.
- How does China rank for carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita?
- China ranks 13th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is carbon emission intensity vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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.