Share of global greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea
South Korea: Share of global greenhouse gas emissions was 1.2% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
1.2%
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
15th
of 199 countries
All-time high
1.4%
in 2018
All-time low
0.1%
in 1909
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Share of global greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 1.2% for share of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea peaked at 1.4% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1909.
That places South Korea 15th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 0.2% | — |
| 1851 | 0.2% | -4.6% |
| 1852 | 0.2% | -5.5% |
| 1853 | 0.2% | +4.9% |
| 1854 | 0.2% | -3.8% |
| 1855 | 0.2% | -14.1% |
| 1856 | 0.2% | +12.7% |
| 1857 | 0.2% | -10.9% |
| 1858 | 0.2% | +10.7% |
| 1859 | 0.2% | -2.6% |
| 1860 | 0.2% | -4.8% |
| 1861 | 0.2% | +3.8% |
| 1862 | 0.2% | -3.1% |
| 1863 | 0.2% | -8.7% |
| 1864 | 0.2% | +21.5% |
| 1865 | 0.2% | -9.2% |
| 1866 | 0.2% | -0.9% |
| 1867 | 0.2% | -1.5% |
| 1868 | 0.2% | +0.5% |
| 1869 | 0.2% | -0.9% |
| 1870 | 0.2% | -8.7% |
| 1871 | 0.2% | -8.1% |
| 1872 | 0.2% | +3.2% |
| 1873 | 0.1% | -5.4% |
| 1874 | 0.1% | -5.0% |
| 1875 | 0.2% | +27.5% |
| 1876 | 0.2% | -14.5% |
| 1877 | 0.1% | -10.2% |
| 1878 | 0.1% | -2.5% |
| 1879 | 0.1% | -5.0% |
| 1880 | 0.1% | -6.2% |
| 1881 | 0.1% | +2.0% |
| 1882 | 0.1% | -5.9% |
| 1883 | 0.1% | -4.4% |
| 1884 | 0.1% | -9.0% |
| 1885 | 0.1% | +13.8% |
| 1886 | 0.1% | -0.4% |
| 1887 | 0.1% | -4.0% |
| 1888 | 0.1% | +3.8% |
| 1889 | 0.1% | -0.6% |
| 1890 | 0.1% | -20.2% |
| 1891 | 0.1% | +25.4% |
| 1892 | 0.1% | -3.5% |
| 1893 | 0.1% | -3.7% |
| 1894 | 0.1% | -24.8% |
| 1895 | 0.1% | -3.0% |
| 1896 | 0.1% | +29.1% |
| 1897 | 0.1% | -10.3% |
| 1898 | 0.1% | +1.9% |
| 1899 | 0.1% | -3.7% |
| 1900 | 0.1% | -5.7% |
| 1901 | 0.1% | -0.4% |
| 1902 | 0.1% | +10.1% |
| 1903 | 0.1% | -7.5% |
| 1904 | 0.1% | +33.0% |
| 1905 | 0.1% | -26.8% |
| 1906 | 0.1% | -7.3% |
| 1907 | 0.1% | +2.5% |
| 1908 | 0.1% | +1.1% |
| 1909 | 0.1% | -4.7% |
| 1910 | 0.1% | +44.7% |
| 1911 | 0.1% | -11.6% |
| 1912 | 0.1% | +11.5% |
| 1913 | 0.1% | +15.1% |
| 1914 | 0.1% | +4.2% |
| 1915 | 0.1% | +11.4% |
| 1916 | 0.1% | +4.9% |
| 1917 | 0.2% | +6.9% |
| 1918 | 0.2% | +2.9% |
| 1919 | 0.2% | +9.7% |
| 1920 | 0.2% | -5.8% |
| 1921 | 0.2% | +4.4% |
| 1922 | 0.2% | +1.2% |
| 1923 | 0.2% | -6.0% |
| 1924 | 0.2% | +16.9% |
| 1925 | 0.2% | -8.8% |
| 1926 | 0.2% | +2.3% |
| 1927 | 0.2% | +10.2% |
| 1928 | 0.2% | -9.1% |
| 1929 | 0.2% | +1.5% |
| 1930 | 0.2% | -4.1% |
| 1931 | 0.2% | -13.3% |
| 1932 | 0.2% | +15.9% |
| 1933 | 0.2% | -11.2% |
| 1934 | 0.2% | +6.9% |
| 1935 | 0.2% | +0.9% |
| 1936 | 0.2% | -4.2% |
| 1937 | 0.2% | -3.7% |
| 1938 | 0.2% | +7.0% |
| 1939 | 0.2% | +0.4% |
| 1940 | 0.2% | -1.4% |
| 1941 | 0.2% | +5.0% |
| 1942 | 0.2% | +1.6% |
| 1943 | 0.2% | +2.6% |
| 1944 | 0.2% | +3.0% |
| 1945 | 0.2% | +12.0% |
| 1946 | 0.2% | -1.4% |
| 1947 | 0.2% | -3.5% |
| 1948 | 0.2% | -1.7% |
| 1949 | 0.2% | +11.7% |
| 1950 | 0.2% | -22.5% |
| 1951 | 0.2% | -7.0% |
| 1952 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1953 | 0.2% | +2.6% |
| 1954 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1955 | 0.1% | -7.9% |
| 1956 | 0.1% | +3.5% |
| 1957 | 0.1% | -2.9% |
| 1958 | 0.1% | -2.4% |
| 1959 | 0.1% | -6.0% |
| 1960 | 0.1% | +6.7% |
| 1961 | 0.1% | +4.7% |
| 1962 | 0.2% | +15.1% |
| 1963 | 0.2% | +32.1% |
| 1964 | 0.2% | +7.4% |
| 1965 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1966 | 0.2% | +5.3% |
| 1967 | 0.3% | +4.3% |
| 1968 | 0.2% | -6.6% |
| 1969 | 0.2% | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 0.3% | +14.7% |
| 1971 | 0.3% | +3.3% |
| 1972 | 0.3% | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 0.3% | +13.0% |
| 1974 | 0.4% | +5.9% |
| 1975 | 0.4% | +5.2% |
| 1976 | 0.4% | +5.1% |
| 1977 | 0.4% | +6.6% |
| 1978 | 0.4% | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 0.5% | +14.7% |
| 1980 | 0.5% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 0.5% | +6.6% |
| 1982 | 0.5% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.6% | +4.2% |
| 1984 | 0.6% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 0.6% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 0.6% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 0.6% | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 0.7% | +9.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +8.3% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | +7.7% |
| 1992 | 0.9% | +10.0% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | +7.6% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | +5.9% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | +7.0% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 1.0% | -11.6% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +7.5% |
| 2000 | 1.2% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 1.2% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -4.6% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 1.2% | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -3.9% |
| 2024 | 1.2% | -1.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 13.3× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1%, 10.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global greenhouse gas emissions 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | +44.7% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 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 greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea?
- Share of global greenhouse gas emissions in South Korea was 1.2% in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global greenhouse gas emissions recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of global greenhouse gas emissions recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1909.
- How does South Korea rank for share of global greenhouse gas emissions?
- South Korea ranks 15th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global greenhouse gas 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 as a percentage of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.