Share of global methane emissions in Iraq
Iraq: Share of global methane emissions was 1.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
1.6%
Change on year
down 3.0%
World rank
11th
of 201 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 1979
All-time low
0.1%
in 1850
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Share of global methane emissions in Iraq, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global methane emissions in Iraq is 1.6%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and up 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global methane emissions in Iraq peaked at 2.1% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1850.
That places Iraq 11th out of 201 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 methane emissions in Iraq, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 0.1% | — |
| 1851 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1852 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1853 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1854 | 0.1% | -0.3% |
| 1855 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1856 | 0.1% | -0.0% |
| 1857 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1858 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1859 | 0.1% | -0.0% |
| 1860 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 1861 | 0.1% | +0.9% |
| 1862 | 0.1% | +1.0% |
| 1863 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1864 | 0.1% | +0.7% |
| 1865 | 0.1% | +0.7% |
| 1866 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1867 | 0.1% | +0.8% |
| 1868 | 0.1% | +0.9% |
| 1869 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1870 | 0.1% | +0.8% |
| 1871 | 0.1% | +0.5% |
| 1872 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1873 | 0.1% | +0.4% |
| 1874 | 0.1% | +1.0% |
| 1875 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1876 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1877 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1878 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1879 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1880 | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| 1881 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1882 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1883 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1884 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1885 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1886 | 0.1% | +0.5% |
| 1887 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1888 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 1889 | 0.1% | +0.5% |
| 1890 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 1891 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1892 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1893 | 0.1% | +0.9% |
| 1894 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1895 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1896 | 0.1% | +0.4% |
| 1897 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1898 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1899 | 0.1% | -0.4% |
| 1900 | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| 1901 | 0.1% | +0.8% |
| 1902 | 0.1% | +0.9% |
| 1903 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.1% | +0.9% |
| 1905 | 0.1% | +0.4% |
| 1906 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1907 | 0.1% | -0.8% |
| 1908 | 0.1% | +1.5% |
| 1909 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1910 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1911 | 0.1% | +0.3% |
| 1912 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1913 | 0.1% | -0.6% |
| 1914 | 0.1% | +2.3% |
| 1915 | 0.1% | +0.7% |
| 1916 | 0.1% | -0.7% |
| 1917 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 1918 | 0.1% | +1.4% |
| 1919 | 0.1% | +2.3% |
| 1920 | 0.1% | -1.7% |
| 1921 | 0.1% | +2.2% |
| 1922 | 0.1% | -1.6% |
| 1923 | 0.1% | -2.7% |
| 1924 | 0.1% | -0.7% |
| 1925 | 0.1% | -0.5% |
| 1926 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.1% | +6.4% |
| 1928 | 0.1% | +8.5% |
| 1929 | 0.1% | +2.4% |
| 1930 | 0.1% | +0.1% |
| 1931 | 0.1% | +3.5% |
| 1932 | 0.1% | +3.5% |
| 1933 | 0.1% | +0.2% |
| 1934 | 0.3% | +117.2% |
| 1935 | 0.4% | +59.5% |
| 1936 | 0.4% | -0.9% |
| 1937 | 0.4% | +4.5% |
| 1938 | 0.4% | -3.4% |
| 1939 | 0.7% | +75.5% |
| 1940 | 0.5% | -32.1% |
| 1941 | 0.3% | -29.6% |
| 1942 | 0.5% | +43.7% |
| 1943 | 0.6% | +27.2% |
| 1944 | 0.7% | +12.5% |
| 1945 | 0.8% | +20.2% |
| 1946 | 0.9% | +7.0% |
| 1947 | 0.9% | +5.0% |
| 1948 | 0.6% | -37.1% |
| 1949 | 0.6% | +3.0% |
| 1950 | 0.6% | +1.3% |
| 1951 | 0.6% | +0.5% |
| 1952 | 0.6% | +1.1% |
| 1953 | 0.6% | +0.4% |
| 1954 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
| 1955 | 0.6% | -2.4% |
| 1956 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 1957 | 0.6% | -4.9% |
| 1958 | 0.6% | +11.4% |
| 1959 | 0.7% | +7.9% |
| 1960 | 0.8% | +12.5% |
| 1961 | 0.8% | +4.9% |
| 1962 | 0.9% | +5.6% |
| 1963 | 0.9% | +4.5% |
| 1964 | 0.9% | -2.5% |
| 1965 | 0.9% | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 1.6% | +68.3% |
| 1967 | 0.8% | -46.9% |
| 1968 | 1.1% | +30.5% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | +10.6% |
| 1970 | 1.2% | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 1.2% | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -13.8% |
| 1973 | 1.4% | +29.3% |
| 1974 | 1.3% | -3.0% |
| 1975 | 1.5% | +11.7% |
| 1976 | 1.6% | +5.2% |
| 1977 | 1.5% | -3.9% |
| 1978 | 1.6% | +8.7% |
| 1979 | 2.1% | +29.5% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | -21.4% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | -55.2% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | +15.4% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | +14.4% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +14.6% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | +19.9% |
| 1988 | 1.7% | +24.6% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | +4.7% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | -27.2% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | -78.1% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | +29.5% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | +16.6% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | +6.0% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -6.9% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | +54.7% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | +17.3% |
| 1999 | 0.9% | +15.0% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | +5.8% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | -9.6% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | -7.1% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | +15.6% |
| 2005 | 0.9% | -6.8% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | +5.3% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | +12.6% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +8.2% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | +11.0% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +23.5% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | -11.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | +6.6% |
| 2023 | 1.6% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | -3.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 1.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 13.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 1.6% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 0.3%, 6.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global methane emissions in Iraq 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | +117.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 1991 | -78.1% | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| 1939 | +75.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| 1966 | +68.3% | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| 1935 | +59.5% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 1981 | -55.2% | 1.7% | 0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1860s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 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% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More climate change data for Iraq
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 672.48 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 10,634 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 3,750 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 6,884 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14.15 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 245.84 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,859 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 4,294 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,565 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 16.21 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global methane emissions in Iraq?
- Share of global methane emissions in Iraq was 1.6% in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global methane emissions recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1979.
- What is the lowest share of global methane emissions recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1850.
- How does Iraq rank for share of global methane emissions?
- Iraq ranks 11th out of 201 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global methane emissions rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Iraq 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 methane 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 methane emissions.