Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia
Australia: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
9th
of 199 countries
All-time high
69.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1850
All-time low
22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
Analysis
In 2024, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia stood at 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person. That is the lowest value across all 175 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 19.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia peaked at 69.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1850 and was at its lowest, 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 2024.
That places Australia 9th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 54.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 42.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 69.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 40.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 39.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 41.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 42.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 40.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 44.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 38.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 34.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 41.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 35.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 34.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 36.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 34.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 33.45 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 34.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 32.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 29.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 33.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 37.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 36.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 38.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 26.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 25.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 25.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 26.72 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 34.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 36.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 37.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 48.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 32.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 28.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 39.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 32.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 27.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 37.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 37.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 40.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 25.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 41.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 6 Trinidad and Tobago 27.18 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 7 Saudi Arabia 24.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 8 United Arab Emirates 23.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 10 Oman 22.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 11 Canada 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 12 Belize 19.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for Australia
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.4% (2100)
- Population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Population, total 27.61 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Urban population 24.22 million (2025)
- Urban population 87.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 20.04 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.48 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Australia was 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 69.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1850.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024.
- How does Australia rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Australia ranks 9th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Per capita greenhouse gas 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
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.