CO₂ emissions from transport in New Zealand
New Zealand: CO₂ emissions from transport was 14.78 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
CO₂ emissions from transport in New Zealand, 1990–2023
Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 14.78 million tonnes for co₂ emissions from transport in 2023.
The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co₂ emissions from transport in New Zealand peaked at 15.82 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 8.66 million tonnes, in 1990.
That places New Zealand 52nd out of 191 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10.16 million tonnes | 8.66 million tonnes | 11.59 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.20 million tonnes | 12.09 million tonnes | 13.89 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.42 million tonnes | 13.54 million tonnes | 15.82 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.49 million tonnes | 13.93 million tonnes | 14.78 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 5.32 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 4.47 million (2025)
- Urban population 84.0% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 2.01 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is co₂ emissions from transport in New Zealand?
- Co₂ emissions from transport in New Zealand was 14.78 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 15.82 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.66 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for co₂ emissions from transport?
- New Zealand ranks 52nd out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
- Is co₂ emissions from transport rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of CO₂ emissions from transport. 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
Emissions are measured in tonnes.