Independent · EDGAR v8.0 · 2023
Who emits the world's greenhouse gases?
Plain per-country, per-sector, per-year greenhouse-gas emissions from EU EDGAR v8.0: 51 major economies, 7 IPCC sectors, 4 gases, 1970–2023. No spreadsheets; every figure traced to its source.
The national picture
China and United States account for 47% of the latest EDGAR total tracked here; the remaining 53% is distributed across 49 other economies.
- 47.1 Gt
- Tracked emissions in 2023
- 47%
- Share from the two largest emitters
- 51
- Economies in this EDGAR extract
- 1970–2023
- Annual coverage window
EU EDGAR v8.0 is a globally consistent model estimate, not a national inventory. See the methodology for scope, units, and source-vintage detail.
Start with a guide
Understanding CO₂-equivalent
GWP100 explained for non-specialists
EDGAR vs UNFCCC
Why datasets disagree on the same country
LULUCF: most-disputed sector
Where major dataset disagreement is normal
Climate TRACE explained
Satellite-derived emissions verification
Read an emissions time series
Six framing choices that change a country comparison
IPCC sector taxonomy
How EDGAR source categories connect to the sector pages
Use emissions data for research
Citation, licensing, and comparability notes for the extract
Largest emitters, 2023 (area share)
Share of the 47.1 Gt emitted by the 51 economies tracked here
Top 10 absolute emitters (2023)
MtCO₂e · same EDGAR year totals
Concentration of the tracked total
Top-3 share of 47.1 Gt in 2023
Top emitters in 2023: China 15.97 Gt, United States 5.97 Gt, India 4.14 Gt, Russia 2.66 Gt, Brazil 1.30 Gt, Indonesia 1.19 Gt, Japan 1.04 Gt, Iran 0.99 Gt, Saudi Arabia 0.81 Gt, Canada 0.75 Gt, Mexico 0.72 Gt, Germany 0.68 Gt - all figures EU EDGAR v8.0, 2023.
Wealth doesn't predict carbon intensity per person
Among the 30 wealthiest economies tracked here (2023), GDP per capita and per-person emissions decouple sharply: energy mix and industrial structure matter more than income.
GDP per capita vs. emissions per capita
The 30 wealthiest tracked economies, 2023
View all 30 economies as a list
- Ireland : $105,882 GDP/capita, 11.38 tCO₂e/capita
- Norway : $87,273 GDP/capita, 10.3 tCO₂e/capita
- Singapore : $84,746 GDP/capita, 12.89 tCO₂e/capita
- United States : $81,429 GDP/capita, 17.77 tCO₂e/capita
- Denmark : $67,797 GDP/capita, 7.11 tCO₂e/capita
- Australia : $65,000 GDP/capita, 21.99 tCO₂e/capita
- Sweden (highlighted below) : $56,190 GDP/capita, 4.7 tCO₂e/capita
- Netherlands : $56,111 GDP/capita, 8.39 tCO₂e/capita
- Canada : $54,872 GDP/capita, 19.13 tCO₂e/capita
- Germany : $52,976 GDP/capita, 8.14 tCO₂e/capita
- United Arab Emirates : $51,000 GDP/capita, 26.99 tCO₂e/capita
- Belgium : $50,000 GDP/capita, 8.9 tCO₂e/capita
- United Kingdom : $49,851 GDP/capita, 5.69 tCO₂e/capita
- New Zealand : $48,077 GDP/capita, 16.27 tCO₂e/capita
- France : $46,615 GDP/capita, 5.96 tCO₂e/capita
- Japan : $34,113 GDP/capita, 8.42 tCO₂e/capita
- Italy : $34,068 GDP/capita, 6.38 tCO₂e/capita
- Spain : $32,917 GDP/capita, 5.97 tCO₂e/capita
- Taiwan : $32,917 GDP/capita, 12.87 tCO₂e/capita
- South Korea : $32,885 GDP/capita, 12.63 tCO₂e/capita
- Saudi Arabia : $30,556 GDP/capita, 22.52 tCO₂e/capita
- Czechia : $30,000 GDP/capita, 10.46 tCO₂e/capita
- Poland : $21,316 GDP/capita, 9.59 tCO₂e/capita
- Romania : $16,842 GDP/capita, 5.6 tCO₂e/capita
- Chile : $16,500 GDP/capita, 6.18 tCO₂e/capita
- Russia : $15,556 GDP/capita, 18.5 tCO₂e/capita
- Mexico : $13,984 GDP/capita, 5.59 tCO₂e/capita
- Argentina : $13,696 GDP/capita, 8.01 tCO₂e/capita
- Turkey : $13,059 GDP/capita, 7.15 tCO₂e/capita
- Kazakhstan : $13,000 GDP/capita, 15.97 tCO₂e/capita
Sweden is the clearest example: $56,190 GDP per capita, among the wealthiest tracked here, yet only 4.7 tCO₂e per person, below the $15,208-and-7.4t tracked-average crosshair on the emissions axis while sitting far above it on wealth, the opposite pairing from what income alone would predict.
Explore the emission sources behind the total
Open a sector to see its latest total, gas mix, leading countries, and long-run EDGAR trend.
About this data
PlainEmissions presents the EU EDGAR v8.0 dataset, roughly 47.1 gigatonnes of 2023 CO₂-equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions across 51 major economies, broken out by IPCC sector (energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture, land use, waste) and by gas (CO₂, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases). The loaded data spans 1970–2023.
EDGAR is a bottom-up, globally consistent model published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. It is one of several authoritative emissions datasets; the others, the World Bank Climate Knowledge Portal, Climate TRACE's satellite estimates, and UNFCCC national inventories, use different methods and can differ materially for a given country or sector. Rather than present any single number as ground truth, our research pages explain where these datasets diverge and why, so you can read EDGAR's figures with that context.
Compiled and maintained by the PlainEmissions team. Source provenance, vintage dates, and unit conversions are documented on the methodology page. For data corrections or licensing inquiries, see contact.
What does the EDGAR emissions dataset cover?
What is PlainEmissions?
PlainEmissions is a free, independent reference that makes global greenhouse-gas emissions data searchable and comparable. It is built on the EU EDGAR v8.0 dataset (Joint Research Centre) - a globally consistent, bottom-up estimate of emissions by country, IPCC sector, and gas, presented as plain per-country, per-sector, per-year pages instead of multi-gigabyte spreadsheets.
Where does the data come from?
Every figure currently on PlainEmissions is sourced from EU EDGAR v8.0 (the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, published by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, CC BY 4.0). EDGAR is a bottom-up, globally consistent model covering all major economies. We also document three other authoritative datasets used by researchers, the World Bank Climate Knowledge Portal, Climate TRACE (satellite + ML), and UNFCCC national inventories, and explain on the research pages how their methods differ from EDGAR's.
Do different datasets disagree on the same country?
Yes, and it is informative. UNFCCC inventories are self-reported by governments using IPCC guidelines; EDGAR uses a globally consistent bottom-up model; Climate TRACE uses independent satellite measurements and machine learning. They can differ by 10–50% for a given country-sector, especially for land use (LULUCF) and methane. PlainEmissions's figures are EDGAR's; the research pages explain where and why these datasets diverge so you can read any single number in context.
Is this data free to use?
Yes. All emissions data on PlainEmissions is free to view and free to cite. EDGAR is published under CC BY 4.0, please credit "EU EDGAR v8.0 (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)" when you reuse a figure. Each country and sector page links back to the EDGAR source.
How current is the data?
PlainEmissions currently covers 1970–2023, with 2023 the most recent complete reporting year in EDGAR v8.0. EDGAR releases annually (typically Q3–Q4); the methodology page records the loaded vintage, and we refresh within four weeks of a major EDGAR release.
Download the country-level EDGAR extract used on this site: country-emissions-statistics.csv. Key findings live on statistics.
According to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, the EDGAR v8.0 dataset publishes country- and sector-level greenhouse-gas inventories on a common bottom-up model. Every figure on PlainEmissions is rebuilt from that release; no number is typed in by an editor. Homepage national rails use the latest complete EDGAR reporting year present in this extract. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of EDGAR 2023 (extract 2026-06-20). EDGAR figures are production-based inventory totals for a published reference year (AR6 GWP100, LULUCF excluded on ranked surfaces) - not climate policy advice, real-time emissions, or a substitute for UNFCCC legal inventories.