Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions was 8.7% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions in Sri Lanka, 1951–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 8.7% for annual percentage change in co₂ emissions in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 101.7% on the previous year and down 58.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual percentage change in co₂ emissions in Sri Lanka peaked at 63.6% in 1957 and was at its lowest, -20.8%, in 1984.
That places Sri Lanka 4th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | -5.0% | — |
| 1952 | 25.4% | -610.2% |
| 1953 | 6.6% | -73.9% |
| 1954 | -13.7% | -306.4% |
| 1955 | -6.8% | -50.4% |
| 1956 | -14.8% | +117.9% |
| 1957 | 63.6% | -530.7% |
| 1958 | -16.0% | -125.1% |
| 1959 | 5.4% | -134.1% |
| 1960 | 9.8% | +80.0% |
| 1961 | 3.4% | -65.2% |
| 1962 | 9.7% | +185.4% |
| 1963 | -1.1% | -111.7% |
| 1964 | -10.3% | +799.6% |
| 1965 | 16.9% | -264.8% |
| 1966 | 0.1% | -99.2% |
| 1967 | 10.7% | +7613.8% |
| 1968 | 9.9% | -7.3% |
| 1969 | 33.3% | +234.3% |
| 1970 | -16.7% | -150.3% |
| 1971 | -11.2% | -33.0% |
| 1972 | 10.7% | -195.5% |
| 1973 | 4.0% | -62.3% |
| 1974 | -20.7% | -612.5% |
| 1975 | -1.3% | -93.9% |
| 1976 | -3.4% | +165.4% |
| 1977 | 4.1% | -222.8% |
| 1978 | 17.7% | +330.4% |
| 1979 | 10.9% | -38.6% |
| 1980 | -11.1% | -202.2% |
| 1981 | 18.2% | -263.8% |
| 1982 | 11.6% | -36.5% |
| 1983 | 8.9% | -23.1% |
| 1984 | -20.8% | -333.5% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | -107.2% |
| 1986 | -6.6% | -540.5% |
| 1987 | 10.1% | -252.0% |
| 1988 | -14.0% | -238.8% |
| 1989 | -0.3% | -97.8% |
| 1990 | 11.2% | -3766.9% |
| 1991 | 8.0% | -28.5% |
| 1992 | 22.6% | +182.6% |
| 1993 | -2.5% | -110.9% |
| 1994 | 8.7% | -455.7% |
| 1995 | 7.0% | -19.6% |
| 1996 | 20.0% | +185.0% |
| 1997 | 7.8% | -60.9% |
| 1998 | 3.0% | -62.0% |
| 1999 | 10.0% | +234.9% |
| 2000 | 19.2% | +92.5% |
| 2001 | 1.7% | -91.3% |
| 2002 | 6.2% | +269.8% |
| 2003 | -0.2% | -103.8% |
| 2004 | 10.7% | -4642.0% |
| 2005 | -2.0% | -118.8% |
| 2006 | -1.4% | -28.6% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | -307.2% |
| 2008 | -1.6% | -155.7% |
| 2009 | 7.9% | -580.9% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -87.5% |
| 2011 | 14.0% | +1317.4% |
| 2012 | 6.3% | -55.0% |
| 2013 | -8.1% | -228.4% |
| 2014 | 20.7% | -356.1% |
| 2015 | 12.3% | -40.6% |
| 2016 | 16.5% | +33.8% |
| 2017 | -0.8% | -104.7% |
| 2018 | -9.2% | +1095.6% |
| 2019 | 4.8% | -152.5% |
| 2020 | -3.3% | -168.3% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | -161.3% |
| 2022 | -11.7% | -683.9% |
| 2023 | 4.3% | -136.6% |
| 2024 | 8.7% | +101.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 8.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 3.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 8.7% is above the median for South Asia, which is 3.9%, 2.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | +7613.8% | 0.1% | 10.7% |
| 2004 | +4642.0% | -0.2% | 10.7% |
| 1990 | +3766.9% | -0.3% | 11.2% |
| 2011 | +1317.4% | 1.0% | 14.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5.0% | -16.0% | 63.6% | 9 |
| 1960s | 8.3% | -10.3% | 33.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.6% | -20.7% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.3% | -20.8% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.6% | -2.5% | 22.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.3% | -2.0% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.8% | -9.2% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.0% | -11.7% | 8.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 1 Bolivia 16.6% compare
- 2 Uzbekistan 13.3% compare
- 3 Christmas Island 10.0% compare
- 5 Philippines 8.6% compare
- 6 Iceland 8.4% compare
- 7 Congo 6.8% compare
More climate change data for Sri Lanka
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 327.09 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,418 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 618.46 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,800 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.33 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 100 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,168 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,071 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,097 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.82 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual percentage change in co₂ emissions in Sri Lanka?
- Annual percentage change in co₂ emissions in Sri Lanka was 8.7% in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual percentage change in co₂ emissions recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 63.6% in 1957.
- What is the lowest annual percentage change in co₂ emissions recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -20.8% in 1984.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for annual percentage change in co₂ emissions?
- Sri Lanka ranks 4th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is annual percentage change in co₂ emissions rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 58.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual percentage change in CO₂ emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual percentage growth in total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change.