Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia
Malaysia: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 10.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
10.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
32nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
37.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1887
All-time low
3.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1935
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia, 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
Malaysia recorded 10.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person for per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.
The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and down 33.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia peaked at 37.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1887 and was at its lowest, 3.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1935.
That places Malaysia 32nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 23.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 33.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 23.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 33.49 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 18.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 29.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 30.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.49 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 37.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 13.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 23.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 15.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 25.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 31.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 11.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 12.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 15.21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 14.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 6.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 10.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 14.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 12.74 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 16.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 23.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.96 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 14.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 13.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 16.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More climate change data for Malaysia
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.4% (2100)
- Population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Population, total 35.98 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population 27.84 million (2025)
- Urban population 77.4% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.16 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 7.04 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.16 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.16 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia was 10.93 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 37.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1887.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1935.
- How does Malaysia rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Malaysia ranks 32nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.