Methane emissions in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Methane emissions was 5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
127th
of 199 countries
All-time high
5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
All-time low
170,946 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1850
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Methane emissions in Costa Rica, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for methane emissions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane emissions in Costa Rica peaked at 5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024 and was at its lowest, 170,946 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1850.
Costa Rica ranks 127th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 182,201 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 170,946 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 193,484 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 218,723 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 196,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 241,854 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 278,061 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 247,063 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 309,175 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 348,632 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 316,127 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 381,782 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 440,361 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 389,640 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 489,909 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 554,863 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 500,078 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 608,794 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 683,210 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 620,316 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 747,308 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 795,719 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 760,524 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 831,240 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 945,448 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 839,457 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 124 Singapore 5.80 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 125 Finland 5.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 126 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 128 Sierra Leone 5.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 129 Trinidad and Tobago 5.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 130 Hong Kong 5.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for Costa Rica
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.0% (2100)
- Population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Population, total 5.15 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Urban population 4.11 million (2025)
- Urban population 79.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.80 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane emissions in Costa Rica?
- Methane emissions in Costa Rica was 5.54 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 5.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024.
- What is the lowest methane emissions recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 170,946 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1850.
- How does Costa Rica rank for methane emissions?
- Costa Rica ranks 127th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is methane emissions rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.