Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland
Switzerland: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
110th
of 199 countries
All-time high
9.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1973
All-time low
1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1945
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland, 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 Switzerland stood at 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland peaked at 9.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1973 and was at its lowest, 1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1945.
Switzerland ranks 110th 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 | 2.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 2.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 2.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.18 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 2.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 2.96 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 3.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 3.53 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 3.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 3.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 2.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 4.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.97 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.27 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.79 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.16 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 7.56 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.19 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.04 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 107 Colombia 4.69 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 108 Panama 4.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 109 Zambia 4.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 111 North Macedonia 4.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 112 Peru 4.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 113 Cote d'Ivoire 4.41 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for Switzerland
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Population, total 9.09 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.3% (2025)
- Urban population 7.79 million (2025)
- Urban population 85.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 3.59 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 3.16 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 3.59 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 3.59 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland?
- Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland was 4.5 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1973.
- What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1945.
- How does Switzerland rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
- Switzerland ranks 110th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.