Nitrous oxide emissions by sector in South Korea

South Korea: Nitrous oxide emissions by sector was 4.55 million tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
4.55 million tonnes
Change on year
down 3.6%
World rank
72nd
of 193 countries
All-time high
5.45 million tonnes
in 1997
All-time low
4.10 million tonnes
in 2009
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Nitrous oxide emissions by sector in South Korea, 1990–2023

02.0M4.0M6.0M1990200620231990: 4.8M tonnes1991: 4.7M tonnes1992: 4.9M tonnes1993: 4.9M tonnes1994: 5.0M tonnes1995: 5.2M tonnes1996: 5.2M tonnes1997: 5.5M tonnes1998: 5.0M tonnes1999: 4.7M tonnes2000: 4.5M tonnes2001: 4.3M tonnes2002: 4.2M tonnes2003: 4.2M tonnes2004: 4.4M tonnes2005: 4.7M tonnes2006: 4.2M tonnes2007: 4.5M tonnes2008: 4.2M tonnes2009: 4.1M tonnes2010: 4.2M tonnes2011: 4.1M tonnes2012: 4.3M tonnes2013: 4.2M tonnes2014: 4.1M tonnes2015: 4.2M tonnes2016: 4.2M tonnes2017: 4.2M tonnes2018: 4.3M tonnes2019: 4.4M tonnes2020: 4.5M tonnes2021: 4.5M tonnes2022: 4.7M tonnes2023: 4.5M tonnes

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

Analysis

South Korea recorded 4.55 million tonnes for nitrous oxide emissions by sector in 2023.

That represents a change of down 3.6% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nitrous oxide emissions by sector in South Korea peaked at 5.45 million tonnes in 1997 and was at its lowest, 4.10 million tonnes, in 2009.

That places South Korea 72nd out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 4.97 million tonnes 4.66 million tonnes 5.45 million tonnes 10
2000s 4.32 million tonnes 4.10 million tonnes 4.67 million tonnes 10
2010s 4.23 million tonnes 4.12 million tonnes 4.37 million tonnes 10
2020s 4.58 million tonnes 4.53 million tonnes 4.72 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 69 Cameroon 4.93 million tonnes compare
  2. 69 Senegal 4.93 million tonnes compare
  3. 71 Ghana 4.67 million tonnes compare
  4. 73 Zimbabwe 4.53 million tonnes compare
  5. 74 Nepal 4.37 million tonnes compare
  6. 75 Chile 4.18 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More climate change data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is nitrous oxide emissions by sector in South Korea?
Nitrous oxide emissions by sector in South Korea was 4.55 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest nitrous oxide emissions by sector recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 5.45 million tonnes in 1997.
What is the lowest nitrous oxide emissions by sector recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 4.10 million tonnes in 2009.
How does South Korea rank for nitrous oxide emissions by sector?
South Korea ranks 72nd out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
Is nitrous oxide emissions by sector rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Nitrous oxide emissions by sector. 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
Nitrous oxide emissions by sector
Unit
tonnes
Source
Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
193 places, 6,559 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents.