Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada
Canada: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
down 3.8%
World rank
11th
of 199 countries
All-time high
49.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1913
All-time low
20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, 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
Canada recorded 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person for per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 175 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.8% on the previous year and down 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada peaked at 49.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1913 and was at its lowest, 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 2024.
That places Canada 11th 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 | 29.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 29.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 32.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 33.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 30.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 31.72 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 29.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 28.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 41.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 35.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 44.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 47.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 45.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 49.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 41.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 39.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 45.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 35.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 34.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 38.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 33.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 35.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 37.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 36.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 38.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 32.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 35.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 31.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 29.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 28.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 32.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 27.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 30.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 23.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 21.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 8 United Arab Emirates 23.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 9 Australia 22.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 10 Oman 22.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 12 Belize 19.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 13 Russia 18.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 14 Kazakhstan 18.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for Canada
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.5% (2100)
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 41.65 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Urban population 34.52 million (2025)
- Urban population 82.9% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 13.42 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 35.64 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 13.42 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 13.42 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada was 20.2 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 49.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1913.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024.
- How does Canada rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Canada ranks 11th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada 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.