CO₂ emissions from domestic air travel in China

China: CO₂ emissions from domestic air travel was 78.64 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
78.64 million tonnes
Change on year
up 6.7%
World rank
2nd
of 142 countries
All-time high
78.64 million tonnes
in 2024
All-time low
35.47 million tonnes
in 2022
Years of data
12
2013–2024

CO₂ emissions from domestic air travel in China, 2013–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M2013201820242013: 42.7M tonnes2014: 46.0M tonnes2015: 49.8M tonnes2016: 54.6M tonnes2017: 61.1M tonnes2018: 66.8M tonnes2019: 74.0M tonnes2020: 57.1M tonnes2021: 61.1M tonnes2022: 35.5M tonnes2023: 73.7M tonnes2024: 78.6M tonnes

Source: OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

China recorded 78.64 million tonnes for co₂ emissions from domestic air travel in 2024. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.

The figure is up 6.7% on the previous year and up 71.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions from domestic air travel in China peaked at 78.64 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 35.47 million tonnes, in 2022.

China ranks 2nd of 142 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 56.43 million tonnes 42.70 million tonnes 73.98 million tonnes 7
2020s 61.21 million tonnes 35.47 million tonnes 78.64 million tonnes 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 United States 132.13 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 India 13.10 million tonnes compare
  3. 4 Japan 9.87 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 Russia 9.56 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 143 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions from domestic air travel in China?
Co₂ emissions from domestic air travel in China was 78.64 million tonnes in 2024, according to OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest co₂ emissions from domestic air travel recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 78.64 million tonnes in 2024.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions from domestic air travel recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 35.47 million tonnes in 2022.
How does China rank for co₂ emissions from domestic air travel?
China ranks 2nd out of 142 countries with data for 2024.
Is co₂ emissions from domestic air travel rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 71.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions from domestic air travel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
CO₂ emissions from domestic air travel
Unit
tonnes
Source
OECD (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
143 places, 1,474 data points, 2013–2024
Last refreshed

Domestic aviation represents flights which depart and arrive within the same country. CO₂ emissions from commercial passenger flights only.