Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal in South Korea
South Korea: Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal was 1.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal 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 from coal in South Korea is 1.6%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.2% on the previous year and down 29.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global co₂ emissions from coal in South Korea peaked at 2.3% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1905.
South Korea ranks 8th of 179 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 from coal in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1905 | 0.0% | — |
| 1909 | 0.0% | +810.7% |
| 1910 | 0.0% | +19.9% |
| 1911 | 0.0% | +17.0% |
| 1912 | 0.0% | +18.9% |
| 1913 | 0.0% | +7.7% |
| 1914 | 0.0% | +59.0% |
| 1915 | 0.0% | +27.5% |
| 1916 | 0.0% | -22.9% |
| 1918 | 0.0% | -3.9% |
| 1919 | 0.0% | +40.0% |
| 1920 | 0.0% | +12.7% |
| 1921 | 0.0% | +26.2% |
| 1922 | 0.0% | -1.5% |
| 1923 | 0.0% | +5.3% |
| 1924 | 0.0% | +4.9% |
| 1925 | 0.0% | +59.6% |
| 1926 | 0.0% | +9.8% |
| 1927 | 0.0% | -5.0% |
| 1928 | 0.0% | +17.2% |
| 1929 | 0.0% | +7.8% |
| 1930 | 0.0% | +3.3% |
| 1931 | 0.0% | +20.3% |
| 1932 | 0.0% | +32.4% |
| 1933 | 0.0% | +12.7% |
| 1934 | 0.0% | +18.9% |
| 1935 | 0.0% | +10.8% |
| 1936 | 0.0% | +6.8% |
| 1937 | 0.0% | +1.1% |
| 1938 | 0.0% | +50.9% |
| 1939 | 0.0% | +16.6% |
| 1940 | 0.0% | +22.6% |
| 1941 | 0.0% | +4.8% |
| 1942 | 0.0% | +10.5% |
| 1943 | 0.0% | -4.2% |
| 1944 | 0.0% | +8.6% |
| 1946 | 0.0% | -41.3% |
| 1947 | 0.0% | +64.4% |
| 1948 | 0.0% | +81.0% |
| 1949 | 0.1% | +37.3% |
| 1950 | 0.0% | -29.1% |
| 1951 | 0.1% | +33.7% |
| 1952 | 0.1% | +19.3% |
| 1953 | 0.1% | +30.7% |
| 1954 | 0.1% | +11.2% |
| 1955 | 0.1% | +20.3% |
| 1956 | 0.1% | +9.6% |
| 1957 | 0.1% | +7.9% |
| 1958 | 0.2% | +5.5% |
| 1959 | 0.2% | +19.1% |
| 1960 | 0.2% | +10.6% |
| 1961 | 0.2% | +21.2% |
| 1962 | 0.3% | +17.3% |
| 1963 | 0.3% | +16.3% |
| 1964 | 0.4% | +7.1% |
| 1965 | 0.4% | +5.6% |
| 1966 | 0.4% | +13.4% |
| 1967 | 0.4% | +5.7% |
| 1968 | 0.4% | -15.3% |
| 1969 | 0.4% | -3.7% |
| 1970 | 0.4% | +12.5% |
| 1971 | 0.4% | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 0.4% | +4.3% |
| 1973 | 0.5% | +13.9% |
| 1974 | 0.5% | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 0.5% | +6.5% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +7.1% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | -4.0% |
| 1979 | 0.7% | +21.2% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | +22.0% |
| 1982 | 0.9% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +3.6% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | +15.2% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +5.4% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 1.1% | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | -2.8% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 1.1% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 1.2% | +7.7% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 1.4% | +13.7% |
| 1997 | 1.5% | +9.3% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | +6.0% |
| 1999 | 1.7% | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | +8.3% |
| 2001 | 1.9% | +6.0% |
| 2002 | 1.9% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 1.8% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 1.8% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | +7.2% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | +5.1% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | -9.4% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | -4.3% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | -6.9% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | -4.5% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | -7.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 132.0× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1%, 21.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global CO₂ emissions from coal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | +810.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1948 | +81.0% | 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% | 0.1% | 9 |
| 1950s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 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 from coal in South Korea?
- Share of global co₂ emissions from coal in South Korea was 1.6% 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 from coal recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of global co₂ emissions from coal recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1905.
- How does South Korea rank for share of global co₂ emissions from coal?
- South Korea ranks 8th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global co₂ emissions from coal rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.0%. 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 from coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 115 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal, measured as a percentage of global emissions of CO₂ from coal in the same year.