Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in South Korea
South Korea: Consumption-based CO₂ emissions was 708.87 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in South Korea, 1990–2023
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 708.87 million tonnes for consumption-based co₂ emissions in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, consumption-based co₂ emissions in South Korea peaked at 749.23 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 330.99 million tonnes, in 1990.
That places South Korea 8th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 423.89 million tonnes | 330.99 million tonnes | 503.15 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 572.62 million tonnes | 502.22 million tonnes | 644.42 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 689.95 million tonnes | 654.58 million tonnes | 749.23 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 707.79 million tonnes | 682.04 million tonnes | 722.67 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More climate change data for South Korea
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Population, total 51.68 million (2025)
- Urban population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Urban population 41.95 million (2025)
- Urban population 81.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 20.71 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is consumption-based co₂ emissions in South Korea?
- Consumption-based co₂ emissions in South Korea was 708.87 million tonnes in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest consumption-based co₂ emissions recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 749.23 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest consumption-based co₂ emissions recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 330.99 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does South Korea rank for consumption-based co₂ emissions?
- South Korea ranks 8th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is consumption-based co₂ emissions rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Consumption-based CO₂ emissions. 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
Annual consumption-based emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), measured in tonnes.