Greenhouse gas emissions in Zambia
Zambia: Greenhouse gas emissions was 99.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
99.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
59th
of 199 countries
All-time high
121.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2008
All-time low
8.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1909
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Greenhouse gas emissions in Zambia, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 99.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions in Zambia peaked at 121.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2008 and was at its lowest, 8.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1909.
That places Zambia 59th out of 199 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 | 10.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 9.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 9.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 11.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.51 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 10.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 9.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10.02 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 8.51 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 20.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 13.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 27.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 29.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 41.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 32.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 48.67 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 57.23 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 49.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 66.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 56.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 51.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 68.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 50.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 35.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 69.70 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 47.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 41.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 54.42 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 53.91 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 66.28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 58.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 121.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 105.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 97.90 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 119.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 97.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 94.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 99.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 56 Chile 104.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 57 Morocco 101.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 58 Kenya 99.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 60 Mongolia 98.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 61 Libya 94.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 62 Belarus 94.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for Zambia
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.6% (2100)
- Population growth 2.8% (2025)
- Population, total 21.91 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.7% (2025)
- Urban population 10.06 million (2025)
- Urban population 45.9% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.565 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 300.84 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 0.565 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.565 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions in Zambia?
- Greenhouse gas emissions in Zambia was 99.03 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 121.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2008.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1909.
- How does Zambia rank for greenhouse gas emissions?
- Zambia ranks 59th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia 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.