Greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Greenhouse gas emissions was 39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 3.1%
World rank
109th
of 199 countries
All-time high
39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2024
All-time low
7.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1850
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
In 2024, greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan stood at 39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. That is the highest value across all 175 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 30.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan peaked at 39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1850.
That places Afghanistan 109th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 7.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 8.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 9.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 11.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 12.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 13.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.16 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 14.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 14.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 15.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 17.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 18.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 25.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 30.75 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 25.50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 22.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 30.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 23.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 18.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 25.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 29.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 36.55 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 33.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 106 Benin 40.93 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 107 Bulgaria 40.27 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 108 Switzerland 40.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 110 Cuba 39.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 111 Hong Kong 38.91 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 112 Nicaragua 38.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for Afghanistan
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 1.3% (2100)
- Population growth 2.8% (2025)
- Population, total 43.84 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.7% (2025)
- Urban population 11.37 million (2025)
- Urban population 25.9% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 242.63 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.2538 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan?
- Greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan was 39.89 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 greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 39.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1850.
- How does Afghanistan rank for greenhouse gas emissions?
- Afghanistan ranks 109th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of 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
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.