Per capita methane emissions in China
China: Per capita methane emissions was 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
72nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
All-time low
0.6142 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 1870
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Per capita methane emissions in China, 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
The most recent figure for per capita methane emissions in China is 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, per capita methane emissions in China peaked at 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.6142 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, in 1870.
That places China 72nd 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 | 0.6156 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6149 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6176 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.6162 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6143 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6169 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.6174 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6142 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6183 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.6191 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6183 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6196 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.6204 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6191 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.621 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.6244 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6209 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6305 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.6276 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6246 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6317 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.6308 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6292 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6325 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.6361 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6308 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6412 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6358 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6148 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6543 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6547 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6229 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7555 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6922 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6643 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7722 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7192 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7037 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7343 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7274 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7105 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7503 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7516 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7323 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7887 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8247 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.7474 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.8921 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9526 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.9184 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.9728 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.981 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 69 Poland 1.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 70 Angola 1.15 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 71 Romania 1.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 73 Niger 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 74 Kyrgyzstan 1.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
- 75 Slovenia 1.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person compare
More climate change data for China
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 6.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.2% (2025)
- Population, total 1.41 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 933.17 million (2025)
- Urban population 66.3% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.09 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 8.66 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is per capita methane emissions in China?
- Per capita methane emissions in China was 1.12 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 methane emissions recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 2024.
- What is the lowest per capita methane emissions recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6142 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in 1870.
- How does China rank for per capita methane emissions?
- China ranks 72nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is per capita methane emissions rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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 methane 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
Measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.