Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea
South Korea: Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population was 1.5% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea, 1905–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea is 1.5%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea peaked at 1.8% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1905.
South Korea ranks 9th 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1905 | 0.0% | — |
| 1909 | 0.0% | +802.9% |
| 1910 | 0.0% | +19.7% |
| 1911 | 0.0% | +16.7% |
| 1912 | 0.0% | +19.0% |
| 1913 | 0.0% | +7.3% |
| 1914 | 0.0% | +57.6% |
| 1915 | 0.0% | +26.8% |
| 1916 | 0.0% | -23.0% |
| 1918 | 0.0% | -4.4% |
| 1919 | 0.0% | +36.5% |
| 1920 | 0.0% | +11.3% |
| 1921 | 0.0% | +22.6% |
| 1922 | 0.0% | -2.5% |
| 1923 | 0.0% | +5.4% |
| 1924 | 0.0% | +4.7% |
| 1925 | 0.0% | +58.5% |
| 1926 | 0.0% | +9.2% |
| 1927 | 0.0% | -5.0% |
| 1928 | 0.0% | +15.7% |
| 1929 | 0.0% | +7.1% |
| 1930 | 0.0% | +2.1% |
| 1931 | 0.0% | +18.5% |
| 1932 | 0.0% | +30.6% |
| 1933 | 0.0% | +11.9% |
| 1934 | 0.0% | +22.3% |
| 1935 | 0.0% | +12.1% |
| 1936 | 0.0% | +7.0% |
| 1937 | 0.0% | +0.1% |
| 1938 | 0.0% | +42.3% |
| 1939 | 0.0% | +23.5% |
| 1940 | 0.0% | +17.7% |
| 1941 | 0.0% | +9.0% |
| 1942 | 0.0% | +10.8% |
| 1943 | 0.0% | -4.9% |
| 1944 | 0.0% | +3.9% |
| 1945 | 0.0% | -99.6% |
| 1946 | 0.0% | +12380.1% |
| 1947 | 0.0% | +64.4% |
| 1948 | 0.0% | +76.5% |
| 1949 | 0.0% | +36.4% |
| 1950 | 0.0% | -12.0% |
| 1951 | 0.0% | +24.4% |
| 1952 | 0.1% | +16.8% |
| 1953 | 0.1% | +31.8% |
| 1954 | 0.1% | +7.7% |
| 1955 | 0.1% | +13.9% |
| 1956 | 0.1% | +10.1% |
| 1957 | 0.1% | +5.3% |
| 1958 | 0.1% | +6.7% |
| 1959 | 0.1% | +18.4% |
| 1960 | 0.1% | +5.4% |
| 1961 | 0.2% | +14.9% |
| 1962 | 0.2% | +15.4% |
| 1963 | 0.2% | +16.0% |
| 1964 | 0.2% | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 0.2% | +7.7% |
| 1966 | 0.3% | +14.4% |
| 1967 | 0.3% | +13.5% |
| 1968 | 0.3% | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 0.3% | +7.1% |
| 1970 | 0.4% | +16.8% |
| 1971 | 0.4% | +4.7% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | -1.6% |
| 1973 | 0.4% | +15.1% |
| 1974 | 0.4% | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | +8.2% |
| 1976 | 0.5% | +8.4% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +10.2% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 0.7% | +14.6% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 0.8% | +5.0% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | +4.7% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | +9.6% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +4.6% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | +9.5% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | +7.8% |
| 1992 | 1.3% | +12.1% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | +9.0% |
| 1994 | 1.5% | +6.7% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | +5.4% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | +6.5% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | +5.1% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | -14.7% |
| 1999 | 1.7% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 1.7% | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 1.8% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 1.8% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 1.7% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | -4.4% |
| 2024 | 1.5% | -2.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 19.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 34.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | +12380.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1909 | +802.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1945 | -99.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1948 | +76.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1947 | +64.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 9 |
| 1920s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More climate change data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate -0.1285 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate -0.1214 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.8117 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate -78.08 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea?
- Share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population in South Korea was 1.5% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 1997.
- What is the lowest share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1905.
- How does South Korea rank for share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population?
- South Korea ranks 9th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global co₂ emissions vs. share of population rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea 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 — 116 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.