Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry was 27.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
27.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 6.6%
World rank
92nd
of 198 countries
All-time high
28.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2016
All-time low
422,136 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1851
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in Sri Lanka, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 27.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in 2024.
That represents a change of up 6.6% on the previous year and up 17.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in Sri Lanka peaked at 28.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2016 and was at its lowest, 422,136 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1851.
That places Sri Lanka 92nd out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 443,331 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 422,136 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 465,748 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 499,906 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 471,975 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 536,488 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 555,913 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 550,523 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 562,162 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 586,973 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 562,992 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 612,025 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 668,389 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 619,738 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 718,008 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 788,436 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 728,476 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 846,321 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 916,288 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 859,406 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 974,202 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 1.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 987,440 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 1.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 1.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 4.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.57 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 4.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 13.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 18.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 18.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 28.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 27.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 89 Cuba 30.57 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 90 Jordan 29.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 91 Laos 28.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 93 Mozambique 27.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 94 Uganda 26.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 95 Nepal 26.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for Sri Lanka
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population growth -0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 21.76 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.0% (2025)
- Urban population 4.45 million (2025)
- Urban population 20.5% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.9014 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 567.87 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 0.9014 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.9014 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in Sri Lanka?
- Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry in Sri Lanka was 27.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 28.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2016.
- What is the lowest total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 422,136 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1851.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry?
- Sri Lanka ranks 92nd out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Total greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry. 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
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.