Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India
India: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
142nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
All-time low
1.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1868
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India, 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
India recorded 2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person for per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India peaked at 2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1868.
That places India 142nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 1.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 1.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 1.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 1.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 2.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 2.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.72 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.45 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
- 139 Kyrgyzstan 3.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 140 Dominica 3.09 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 141 Eritrea 2.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 143 Costa Rica 2.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 144 Egypt 2.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 145 Benin 2.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for India
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 14.8% (2100)
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 1.46 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population 522.44 million (2025)
- Urban population 35.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 66.07 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in India was 2.94 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 2.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1868.
- How does India rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- India ranks 142nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.