Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China

China: Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade was -10.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
-10.8%
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
106th
of 120 countries
All-time high
-2.7%
in 1992
All-time low
-21.9%
in 2006
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade in China, 1990–2023

-20-15-10-51990200620231990: -4.9 %1991: -6.2 %1992: -2.7 %1993: -3.6 %1994: -9.8 %1995: -9.4 %1996: -9.7 %1997: -11.8 %1998: -10.7 %1999: -10.1 %2000: -11.2 %2001: -10.6 %2002: -11.7 %2003: -16.9 %2004: -18.4 %2005: -21 %2006: -21.9 %2007: -21.6 %2008: -21.4 %2009: -15.6 %2010: -15.7 %2011: -15.4 %2012: -14.6 %2013: -13.2 %2014: -12.6 %2015: -10.8 %2016: -11 %2017: -10.4 %2018: -8.7 %2019: -8.8 %2020: -10.1 %2021: -10.6 %2022: -11 %2023: -10.8 %

Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2023, share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China stood at -10.8%.

The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 18.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China peaked at -2.7% in 1992 and was at its lowest, -21.9%, in 2006.

That places China 106th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -7.9% -11.8% -2.7% 10
2000s -17.0% -21.9% -10.6% 10
2010s -12.1% -15.7% -8.7% 10
2020s -10.6% -11.0% -10.1% 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 103 Canada -4.7% compare
  2. 104 Tunisia -4.9% compare
  3. 105 Burkina Faso -8.0% compare
  4. 107 Iran -15.3% compare
  5. 108 Honduras -15.7% compare
  6. 109 Venezuela -15.9% compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China?
Share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade in China was -10.8% in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was -2.7% in 1992.
What is the lowest share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was -21.9% in 2006.
How does China rank for share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade?
China ranks 106th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of co₂ emissions embedded in trade rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of CO₂ emissions embedded in trade
Unit
%
Source
Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 4,063 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Annual net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions embedded in trade, measured as a percentage of emissions of CO₂.