Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) in World

World: Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) was 1.98 million kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.98 million kt
Change on year
up 1.7%
Rank
1st
of 35 groups
All-time high
1.98 million kt
in 2023
All-time low
661,742 kt
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) in World, 1961–2023

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M196119922023

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

Analysis

World recorded 1.98 million kt for waste — emissions (co2eq) in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 21.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste — emissions (co2eq) in World peaked at 1.98 million kt in 2023 and was at its lowest, 661,742 kt, in 1961.

That places World 1st out of 35 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 790,270 kt 661,742 kt 926,203 kt 9
1970s 1.03 million kt 917,664 kt 1.11 million kt 10
1980s 1.19 million kt 1.13 million kt 1.26 million kt 10
1990s 1.33 million kt 1.27 million kt 1.38 million kt 10
2000s 1.45 million kt 1.38 million kt 1.53 million kt 10
2010s 1.69 million kt 1.55 million kt 1.84 million kt 10
2020s 1.93 million kt 1.87 million kt 1.98 million kt 4

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 OECD 507,448 kt compare
  2. 2 China 402,662 kt compare
  3. 3 China, mainland 386,535 kt compare
  4. 4 India 141,374 kt compare

See the full ranking of 253 places →

More climate change data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste — emissions (co2eq) in World?
Waste — emissions (co2eq) in World was 1.98 million kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest waste — emissions (co2eq) recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 1.98 million kt in 2023.
What is the lowest waste — emissions (co2eq) recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 661,742 kt in 1961.
How does World rank for waste — emissions (co2eq)?
World ranks 1st out of 35 groups with data for 2023.
Is waste — emissions (co2eq) rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.3%. 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 (CO2eq) (AR5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) in World. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 16 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/world/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
253 places, 14,574 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