Co2 intensity in China
China: Co2 intensity was 0.4343 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
0.4343
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
19th
of 164 countries
All-time high
1.13
in 1960
All-time low
0.0563
in 1913
Years of data
85
1911–2022
Co2 intensity in China, 1911–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
China recorded 0.4343 for co2 intensity in 2022.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 34.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co2 intensity in China peaked at 1.13 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0.0563, in 1913.
That places China 19th out of 164 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 85 years of available data.
Co2 intensity in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 0.0636 | — |
| 1913 | 0.0563 | -11.5% |
| 1929 | 0.0988 | +75.4% |
| 1930 | 0.1001 | +1.4% |
| 1931 | 0.1038 | +3.7% |
| 1932 | 0.0975 | -6.1% |
| 1933 | 0.1173 | +20.3% |
| 1934 | 0.1325 | +13.0% |
| 1935 | 0.1428 | +7.8% |
| 1936 | 0.1395 | -2.3% |
| 1937 | 0.1344 | -3.7% |
| 1938 | 0.1192 | -11.3% |
| 1950 | 0.1804 | +51.4% |
| 1951 | 0.1928 | +6.9% |
| 1952 | 0.2149 | +11.5% |
| 1953 | 0.1989 | -7.4% |
| 1954 | 0.2576 | +29.5% |
| 1955 | 0.2797 | +8.6% |
| 1956 | 0.2921 | +4.4% |
| 1957 | 0.3358 | +15.0% |
| 1958 | 0.6847 | +103.9% |
| 1959 | 0.9681 | +41.4% |
| 1960 | 1.13 | +17.0% |
| 1961 | 0.9888 | -12.7% |
| 1962 | 0.7455 | -24.6% |
| 1963 | 0.6474 | -13.2% |
| 1964 | 0.5726 | -11.6% |
| 1965 | 0.5583 | -2.5% |
| 1966 | 0.5925 | +6.1% |
| 1967 | 0.4931 | -16.8% |
| 1968 | 0.5431 | +10.1% |
| 1969 | 0.604 | +11.2% |
| 1970 | 0.7063 | +16.9% |
| 1971 | 0.7476 | +5.8% |
| 1972 | 0.7852 | +5.0% |
| 1973 | 0.7556 | -3.8% |
| 1974 | 0.7517 | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 0.81 | +7.8% |
| 1976 | 0.8675 | +7.1% |
| 1977 | 0.8977 | +3.5% |
| 1978 | 0.895 | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 0.8468 | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 0.7891 | -6.8% |
| 1981 | 0.7571 | -4.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7546 | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 0.7432 | -1.5% |
| 1984 | 0.7278 | -2.1% |
| 1985 | 0.7255 | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 0.7175 | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 0.7102 | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 0.7228 | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7283 | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 0.7337 | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 0.7464 | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 0.7274 | -2.6% |
| 1993 | 0.7063 | -2.9% |
| 1994 | 0.697 | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 0.6967 | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.6824 | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 0.6638 | -2.7% |
| 1998 | 0.6285 | -5.3% |
| 1999 | 0.6364 | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 0.6121 | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 0.5884 | -3.9% |
| 2002 | 0.6014 | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 0.6671 | +10.9% |
| 2004 | 0.6654 | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.6837 | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 0.6835 | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.6733 | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 0.6938 | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 0.6811 | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.6696 | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 0.6953 | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 0.6612 | -4.9% |
| 2013 | 0.6243 | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 0.5833 | -6.6% |
| 2015 | 0.5387 | -7.6% |
| 2016 | 0.4987 | -7.4% |
| 2017 | 0.4786 | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 0.4641 | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4533 | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 0.4512 | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 0.431 | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 0.4343 | +0.8% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.4343 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2348, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- China's 0.4343 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2839, 1.5× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Co2 intensity in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | +103.9% | 0.3358 | 0.6847 |
| 1929 | +75.4% | 0.0563 | 0.0988 |
| 1950 | +51.4% | 0.1192 | 0.1804 |
| 1959 | +41.4% | 0.6847 | 0.9681 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.06 | 0.0563 | 0.0636 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.0988 | 0.0988 | 0.0988 | 1 |
| 1930s | 0.1208 | 0.0975 | 0.1428 | 9 |
| 1950s | 0.3605 | 0.1804 | 0.9681 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6878 | 0.4931 | 1.13 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8063 | 0.7063 | 0.8977 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7376 | 0.7102 | 0.7891 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6919 | 0.6285 | 0.7464 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.655 | 0.5884 | 0.6938 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5667 | 0.4533 | 0.6953 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4388 | 0.431 | 0.4512 | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 31.25 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is co2 intensity in China?
- Co2 intensity in China was 0.4343 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co2 intensity recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.13 in 1960.
- What is the lowest co2 intensity recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0563 in 1913.
- How does China rank for co2 intensity?
- China ranks 19th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
- Is co2 intensity rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Co2 intensity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 85 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).