Statizoid

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions was 5.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
88th
of 199 countries
All-time high
15.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1962
All-time low
5.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2023
Years of data
175
1850–2024

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in United Kingdom, 1850–2024

051015185019372024

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 United Kingdom stood at 5.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 31.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, per capita greenhouse gas emissions in United Kingdom peaked at 15.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1962 and was at its lowest, 5.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 2023.

United Kingdom ranks 88th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 7.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 6.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 7.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1860s 9.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1870s 11.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.74 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1880s 12.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.96 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1890s 12.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.45 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1900s 13.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1910s 13.92 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.98 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1920s 12.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.07 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1930s 12.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1940s 13.42 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1950s 14.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1960s 15.07 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1970s 14.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 14.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 15.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1980s 13.23 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
1990s 12.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.01 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 13.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
2000s 11.34 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 12.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
2010s 8.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 6.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 9.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 10
2020s 5.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 6.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 85 Spain 5.74 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
  2. 86 Uzbekistan 5.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
  3. 87 Greece 5.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
  4. 89 Nicaragua 5.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
  5. 90 Azerbaijan 5.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
  6. 91 Barbados 5.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More climate change data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is per capita greenhouse gas emissions in United Kingdom?
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in United Kingdom was 5.64 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 United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 15.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1962.
What is the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 5.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2023.
How does United Kingdom rank for per capita greenhouse gas emissions?
United Kingdom ranks 88th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is per capita greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 31.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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

Indicator
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions
Unit
tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Source
Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 34,079 data points, 1850–2024
Last refreshed

Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.