Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Germany
Germany: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 7.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, 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
Germany recorded 7.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person for per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 29.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Germany peaked at 17.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1979 and was at its lowest, 2.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1850.
Germany ranks 57th of 199 countries on this measure, 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 | 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 3.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.72 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 3.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 5.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 6.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 8.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 9.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 8.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 8.45 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 8.53 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 12.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.51 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 13.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 15.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 13.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 16.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 15.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 15.53 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 15.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 54 Netherlands 8.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 55 Laos 7.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 56 Czechia 7.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 58 Turkey 7.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 59 Antigua and Barbuda 7.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 60 Denmark 7.69 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for Germany
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.7% (2100)
- Population growth -0.0% (2025)
- Population, total 83.49 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Urban population 68.58 million (2025)
- Urban population 82.1% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.77 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 95.14 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.77 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.77 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Germany?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Germany was 7.8 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 17.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1979.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1850.
- How does Germany rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Germany ranks 57th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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.