Waste — Emissions in World

World: Waste — Emissions was 65,452 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
65,452 kt
Change on year
up 1.8%
Rank
1st
of 33 groups
All-time high
65,452 kt
in 2023
All-time low
22,555 kt
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Waste — Emissions in World, 1961–2023

20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k60.0k70.0k196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

The most recent figure for waste — emissions in World is 65,452 kt, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 21.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste — emissions in World peaked at 65,452 kt in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22,555 kt, in 1961.

That places World 1st out of 33 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Waste — Emissions in World, year by year

Annual values for Waste — Emissions (CH4) in World, 1961 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1961 22,555 kt —
1962 23,578 kt +4.5%
1963 24,635 kt +4.5%
1964 25,713 kt +4.4%
1965 26,827 kt +4.3%
1966 27,976 kt +4.3%
1967 29,123 kt +4.1%
1968 30,329 kt +4.1%
1969 31,539 kt +4.0%
1970 30,948 kt -1.9%
1971 32,750 kt +5.8%
1972 33,348 kt +1.8%
1973 33,936 kt +1.8%
1974 34,461 kt +1.5%
1975 34,903 kt +1.3%
1976 35,641 kt +2.1%
1977 36,221 kt +1.6%
1978 36,882 kt +1.8%
1979 37,449 kt +1.5%
1980 38,048 kt +1.6%
1981 38,450 kt +1.1%
1982 38,905 kt +1.2%
1983 39,458 kt +1.4%
1984 39,938 kt +1.2%
1985 40,382 kt +1.1%
1986 40,927 kt +1.4%
1987 41,390 kt +1.1%
1988 41,828 kt +1.1%
1989 42,336 kt +1.2%
1990 42,684 kt +0.8%
1991 43,253 kt +1.3%
1992 43,735 kt +1.1%
1993 44,002 kt +0.6%
1994 44,453 kt +1.0%
1995 44,868 kt +0.9%
1996 45,155 kt +0.6%
1997 45,432 kt +0.6%
1998 45,461 kt +0.1%
1999 45,733 kt +0.6%
2000 46,188 kt +1.0%
2001 45,791 kt -0.9%
2002 46,029 kt +0.5%
2003 46,755 kt +1.6%
2004 47,356 kt +1.3%
2005 47,857 kt +1.1%
2006 49,036 kt +2.5%
2007 49,956 kt +1.9%
2008 50,206 kt +0.5%
2009 50,424 kt +0.4%
2010 51,110 kt +1.4%
2011 52,158 kt +2.0%
2012 52,658 kt +1.0%
2013 53,751 kt +2.1%
2014 54,717 kt +1.8%
2015 55,951 kt +2.3%
2016 57,070 kt +2.0%
2017 58,362 kt +2.3%
2018 59,793 kt +2.5%
2019 60,906 kt +1.9%
2020 61,876 kt +1.6%
2021 63,173 kt +2.1%
2022 64,325 kt +1.8%
2023 65,452 kt +1.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 26,919 kt 22,555 kt 31,539 kt 9
1970s 34,654 kt 30,948 kt 37,449 kt 10
1980s 40,166 kt 38,048 kt 42,336 kt 10
1990s 44,477 kt 42,684 kt 45,733 kt 10
2000s 47,960 kt 45,791 kt 50,424 kt 10
2010s 55,648 kt 51,110 kt 60,906 kt 10
2020s 63,707 kt 61,876 kt 65,452 kt 4

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 OECD 16,440 kt compare
  2. 2 China 13,254 kt compare
  3. 3 China, mainland 12,700 kt compare
  4. 4 United States 4,940 kt compare

See the full ranking of 265 places →

More climate change data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste — emissions in World?
Waste — emissions in World was 65,452 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest waste — emissions recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 65,452 kt in 2023.
What is the lowest waste — emissions recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 22,555 kt in 1961.
How does World rank for waste — emissions?
World ranks 1st out of 33 groups with data for 2023.
Is waste — emissions rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this World data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Waste — Emissions in World. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1/world/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1/world/">Waste — Emissions in World</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
265 places, 15,268 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf