Methane emissions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Methane emissions was 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
82nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
All-time low
3.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1850
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Methane emissions in Afghanistan, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
The most recent figure for methane emissions in Afghanistan is 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane emissions in Afghanistan peaked at 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1850.
That places Afghanistan 82nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 3.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 3.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.80 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 4.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.02 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.27 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 4.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 4.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 5.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 5.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 5.60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 6.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.93 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 7.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 8.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 9.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 9.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.32 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.96 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 13.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More climate change data for Afghanistan
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 1.3% (2100)
- Population growth 2.8% (2025)
- Population, total 43.84 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.7% (2025)
- Urban population 11.37 million (2025)
- Urban population 25.9% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 242.63 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane emissions in Afghanistan?
- Methane emissions in Afghanistan was 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest methane emissions recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024.
- What is the lowest methane emissions recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1850.
- How does Afghanistan rank for methane emissions?
- Afghanistan ranks 82nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is methane emissions rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Methane emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.