CO₂ emissions from transport in Zambia

Zambia: CO₂ emissions from transport was 2.64 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2.64 million tonnes
Change on year
up 6.0%
World rank
114th
of 191 countries
All-time high
2.64 million tonnes
in 2023
All-time low
630,000 tonnes
in 1996
Years of data
34
1990–2023

CO₂ emissions from transport in Zambia, 1990–2023

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M1990200620231990: 770.0k tonnes1991: 970.0k tonnes1992: 930.0k tonnes1993: 660.0k tonnes1994: 810.0k tonnes1995: 810.0k tonnes1996: 630.0k tonnes1997: 730.0k tonnes1998: 700.0k tonnes1999: 670.0k tonnes2000: 730.0k tonnes2001: 770.0k tonnes2002: 810.0k tonnes2003: 860.0k tonnes2004: 920.0k tonnes2005: 990.0k tonnes2006: 1.0M tonnes2007: 900.0k tonnes2008: 980.0k tonnes2009: 1.1M tonnes2010: 1.2M tonnes2011: 1.3M tonnes2012: 1.6M tonnes2013: 1.7M tonnes2014: 1.9M tonnes2015: 2.1M tonnes2016: 2.1M tonnes2017: 1.9M tonnes2018: 1.8M tonnes2019: 1.8M tonnes2020: 1.9M tonnes2021: 2.5M tonnes2022: 2.5M tonnes2023: 2.6M tonnes

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

Analysis

In 2023, co₂ emissions from transport in Zambia stood at 2.64 million tonnes. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of up 6.0% on the previous year and up 59.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, co₂ emissions from transport in Zambia peaked at 2.64 million tonnes in 2023 and was at its lowest, 630,000 tonnes, in 1996.

That places Zambia 114th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 768,000 tonnes 630,000 tonnes 970,000 tonnes 10
2000s 913,000 tonnes 730,000 tonnes 1.15 million tonnes 10
2010s 1.75 million tonnes 1.23 million tonnes 2.10 million tonnes 10
2020s 2.39 million tonnes 1.90 million tonnes 2.64 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 111 Democratic Republic of Congo 3.30 million tonnes compare
  2. 112 Latvia 3.06 million tonnes compare
  3. 113 Jamaica 2.73 million tonnes compare
  4. 114 Laos 2.64 million tonnes compare
  5. 116 Trinidad and Tobago 2.52 million tonnes compare
  6. 117 Guinea 2.50 million tonnes compare
  7. 117 Zimbabwe 2.50 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More climate change data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is co₂ emissions from transport in Zambia?
Co₂ emissions from transport in Zambia was 2.64 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 Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 2.64 million tonnes in 2023.
What is the lowest co₂ emissions from transport recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 630,000 tonnes in 1996.
How does Zambia rank for co₂ emissions from transport?
Zambia ranks 114th out of 191 countries with data for 2023.
Is co₂ emissions from transport rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 59.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Zambia 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

Indicator
CO₂ emissions from transport
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
191 places, 6,476 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes.