CO₂ emissions by sector in China

China: CO₂ emissions by sector was 430.34 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
430.34 million tonnes
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
2nd
of 187 countries
All-time high
530.05 million tonnes
in 2017
All-time low
274.12 million tonnes
in 2000
Years of data
34
1990–2023

CO₂ emissions by sector in China, 1990–2023

0200.0M400.0M600.0M1990200620231990: 384.7M tonnes1991: 383.3M tonnes1992: 360.0M tonnes1993: 370.4M tonnes1994: 341.4M tonnes1995: 365.7M tonnes1996: 313.8M tonnes1997: 352.6M tonnes1998: 298.7M tonnes1999: 305.4M tonnes2000: 274.1M tonnes2001: 277.7M tonnes2002: 283.6M tonnes2003: 308.5M tonnes2004: 352.6M tonnes2005: 365.5M tonnes2006: 384.1M tonnes2007: 398.3M tonnes2008: 383.2M tonnes2009: 391.7M tonnes2010: 416.4M tonnes2011: 440.7M tonnes2012: 457.2M tonnes2013: 476.6M tonnes2014: 486.8M tonnes2015: 514.9M tonnes2016: 523.1M tonnes2017: 530.0M tonnes2018: 493.9M tonnes2019: 460.6M tonnes2020: 455.1M tonnes2021: 444.9M tonnes2022: 430.6M tonnes2023: 430.3M tonnes

Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for co₂ emissions by sector in China is 430.34 million tonnes, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions by sector in China peaked at 530.05 million tonnes in 2017 and was at its lowest, 274.12 million tonnes, in 2000.

China ranks 2nd of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 347.59 million tonnes 298.69 million tonnes 384.68 million tonnes 10
2000s 341.93 million tonnes 274.12 million tonnes 398.28 million tonnes 10
2010s 480.01 million tonnes 416.40 million tonnes 530.05 million tonnes 10
2020s 440.24 million tonnes 430.34 million tonnes 455.06 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 United States 514.17 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 Russia 201.93 million tonnes compare
  3. 4 Iran 162.73 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 India 125.37 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions by sector in China?
Co₂ emissions by sector in China was 430.34 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 530.05 million tonnes in 2017.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions by sector recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 274.12 million tonnes in 2000.
How does China rank for co₂ emissions by sector?
China ranks 2nd out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
Is co₂ emissions by sector rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions by sector. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
CO₂ emissions by sector
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
187 places, 6,310 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes.