What is emissions of air pollutants in Kenya?

Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya was 4.22 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Kenya?

The highest recorded value was 4.22 million tonnes in 2022.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Kenya?

The lowest recorded value was 67,482 tonnes in 1750.

How does Kenya rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Kenya ranks 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Kenya?

Over the last ten years it is up 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Kenya data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

emissions of air pollutants in Kenya

Name: emissions of air pollutants in Kenya
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Kenya: emissions of air pollutants was 4.22 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

4.22 million tonnes

Change on year

up 1.3%

World rank

16th

of 220 countries

All-time high

4.22 million tonnes

in 2022

All-time low

67,482 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

emissions of air pollutants in Kenya, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Kenya recorded 4.22 million tonnes for emissions of air pollutants in 2022. That is the highest value across all 273 years on record.

The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 25.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Kenya peaked at 4.22 million tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 67,482 tonnes, in 1750.

Kenya ranks 16th of 220 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	67,558 tonnes	67,482 tonnes	67,634 tonnes	10
1760s	67,725 tonnes	67,651 tonnes	67,799 tonnes	10
1770s	67,887 tonnes	67,815 tonnes	67,958 tonnes	10
1780s	68,043 tonnes	67,974 tonnes	68,111 tonnes	10
1790s	68,192 tonnes	68,127 tonnes	68,258 tonnes	10
1800s	68,334 tonnes	68,272 tonnes	68,396 tonnes	10
1810s	68,624 tonnes	68,410 tonnes	68,838 tonnes	10
1820s	69,096 tonnes	68,885 tonnes	69,307 tonnes	10
1830s	69,561 tonnes	69,354 tonnes	69,769 tonnes	10
1840s	70,018 tonnes	69,815 tonnes	70,222 tonnes	10
1850s	72,537 tonnes	70,296 tonnes	74,975 tonnes	10
1860s	78,950 tonnes	75,582 tonnes	82,597 tonnes	10
1870s	88,320 tonnes	83,500 tonnes	93,534 tonnes	10
1880s	109,009 tonnes	96,112 tonnes	122,866 tonnes	10
1890s	135,512 tonnes	117,715 tonnes	154,911 tonnes	10
1900s	205,280 tonnes	159,737 tonnes	230,720 tonnes	10
1910s	342,183 tonnes	240,242 tonnes	382,489 tonnes	10
1920s	367,417 tonnes	335,450 tonnes	401,623 tonnes	10
1930s	412,086 tonnes	396,928 tonnes	439,019 tonnes	10
1940s	557,275 tonnes	430,214 tonnes	760,021 tonnes	10
1950s	787,517 tonnes	761,770 tonnes	803,547 tonnes	10
1960s	830,640 tonnes	807,973 tonnes	879,518 tonnes	10
1970s	1.06 million tonnes	904,441 tonnes	1.23 million tonnes	10
1980s	1.52 million tonnes	1.28 million tonnes	1.79 million tonnes	10
1990s	2.08 million tonnes	1.84 million tonnes	2.35 million tonnes	10
2000s	2.74 million tonnes	2.41 million tonnes	3.10 million tonnes	10
2010s	3.62 million tonnes	3.20 million tonnes	4.01 million tonnes	10
2020s	4.15 million tonnes	4.07 million tonnes	4.22 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Kenya

13 Malaysia 4.68 million tonnes compare
14 Egypt 4.50 million tonnes compare
15 South Africa 4.37 million tonnes compare
17 Tanzania 3.79 million tonnes compare
18 Kazakhstan 3.59 million tonnes compare
19 Philippines 3.50 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More climate change data for Kenya

Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 1.0% (2100)
Population growth 1.9% (2025)
Population, total 57.53 million (2025)
Urban population growth 2.9% (2025)
Urban population 18.53 million (2025)
Urban population 32.2% (2025)
CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.3761 tonnes per person (2024)
Cumulative CO₂ emissions 551.31 million tonnes (2024)
CO₂ emissions per capita 0.3761 tonnes per person (2024)
CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.3761 tonnes per person (2024)

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Kenya?: Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya was 4.22 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Kenya?: The highest recorded value was 4.22 million tonnes in 2022.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Kenya?: The lowest recorded value was 67,482 tonnes in 1750.
How does Kenya rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Kenya ranks 16th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Kenya?: Over the last ten years it is up 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a pollutant produced from the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels such as oil, gas, wood, and coal. CO is a harmful gas that contributes to both outdoor and indoor air pollution.