Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in China
China: Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population was 31.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
31.8%
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
1st
of 215 countries
All-time high
32.0%
in 2023
All-time low
0.5%
in 1912
Years of data
118
1907–2024
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in China, 1907–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in China stood at 31.8%.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in China peaked at 32.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1912.
China ranks 1st of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1907 | 0.7% | — |
| 1908 | 0.8% | +19.0% |
| 1909 | 0.8% | +2.4% |
| 1910 | 0.8% | -1.7% |
| 1911 | 0.8% | -3.0% |
| 1912 | 0.5% | -34.2% |
| 1913 | 0.7% | +31.5% |
| 1914 | 0.8% | +21.4% |
| 1915 | 0.8% | -3.4% |
| 1916 | 0.9% | +9.7% |
| 1917 | 0.9% | +1.6% |
| 1918 | 1.0% | +10.1% |
| 1919 | 1.2% | +26.1% |
| 1920 | 1.1% | -9.1% |
| 1921 | 1.2% | +9.6% |
| 1922 | 1.2% | -1.6% |
| 1923 | 1.3% | +2.6% |
| 1924 | 1.3% | +4.6% |
| 1925 | 1.2% | -6.5% |
| 1926 | 1.2% | -3.4% |
| 1927 | 1.1% | -3.9% |
| 1928 | 1.2% | +4.3% |
| 1929 | 1.1% | -5.5% |
| 1930 | 1.3% | +11.2% |
| 1931 | 1.5% | +17.1% |
| 1932 | 1.6% | +7.4% |
| 1933 | 1.6% | +2.2% |
| 1934 | 1.7% | +6.0% |
| 1935 | 1.9% | +11.0% |
| 1936 | 1.8% | -5.3% |
| 1937 | 1.6% | -12.0% |
| 1938 | 1.5% | -8.1% |
| 1939 | 1.7% | +14.8% |
| 1940 | 1.9% | +11.6% |
| 1941 | 2.3% | +22.7% |
| 1942 | 2.6% | +12.3% |
| 1943 | 2.1% | -16.2% |
| 1944 | 2.0% | -7.1% |
| 1945 | 1.3% | -34.7% |
| 1946 | 0.8% | -39.9% |
| 1947 | 0.8% | +3.4% |
| 1948 | 0.7% | -13.0% |
| 1949 | 1.2% | +69.2% |
| 1950 | 1.3% | +11.4% |
| 1951 | 1.6% | +20.4% |
| 1952 | 2.0% | +23.7% |
| 1953 | 2.0% | +1.6% |
| 1954 | 2.4% | +17.8% |
| 1955 | 2.6% | +8.0% |
| 1956 | 2.7% | +6.4% |
| 1957 | 3.1% | +14.8% |
| 1958 | 6.2% | +99.5% |
| 1959 | 8.1% | +30.5% |
| 1960 | 8.5% | +4.6% |
| 1961 | 6.1% | -28.8% |
| 1962 | 4.7% | -22.2% |
| 1963 | 4.4% | -5.6% |
| 1964 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 1965 | 4.4% | +3.9% |
| 1966 | 4.6% | +4.7% |
| 1967 | 3.8% | -18.8% |
| 1968 | 3.8% | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 4.4% | +15.0% |
| 1970 | 5.4% | +22.8% |
| 1971 | 5.9% | +8.1% |
| 1972 | 6.0% | +1.8% |
| 1973 | 5.9% | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 6.0% | +2.4% |
| 1975 | 7.0% | +15.1% |
| 1976 | 6.9% | -1.4% |
| 1977 | 7.3% | +6.4% |
| 1978 | 7.8% | +7.4% |
| 1979 | 7.8% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 7.7% | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 7.8% | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 8.6% | +9.7% |
| 1983 | 9.0% | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 9.5% | +5.8% |
| 1985 | 9.9% | +4.6% |
| 1986 | 10.3% | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +3.9% |
| 1988 | 11.1% | +3.5% |
| 1989 | 11.1% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 10.9% | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 11.3% | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 12.1% | +7.5% |
| 1993 | 12.8% | +5.6% |
| 1994 | 13.5% | +5.1% |
| 1995 | 14.3% | +5.8% |
| 1996 | 14.4% | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 13.8% | -4.1% |
| 1999 | 14.3% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 14.3% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 14.5% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 15.6% | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 17.5% | +12.1% |
| 2004 | 18.2% | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 19.9% | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 21.2% | +6.7% |
| 2007 | 22.1% | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 23.4% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 25.0% | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 25.8% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 27.6% | +6.8% |
| 2012 | 27.9% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 28.2% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 28.1% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 27.8% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 27.5% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 27.8% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 28.2% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 28.9% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 31.0% | +7.3% |
| 2021 | 30.6% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 31.2% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 32.0% | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 31.8% | -0.4% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 31.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 603.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 31.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 724.3× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | +99.5% | 3.1% | 6.2% |
| 1949 | +69.2% | 0.7% | 1.2% |
| 1946 | -39.9% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 3 |
| 1910s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.6% | 0.7% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 1950s | 3.2% | 1.3% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 4.9% | 3.8% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.6% | 5.4% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.6% | 7.7% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.2% | 10.9% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.2% | 14.3% | 25.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.8% | 25.8% | 28.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.3% | 30.6% | 32.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 31.25 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in China?
- Share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in China was 31.8% in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 32.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1912.
- How does China rank for share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population?
- China ranks 1st out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 118 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured as a percentage of global emissions of CO₂ in the same year.