Country Emissions Rankings
Where countries fall in the global emissions ledger — both in absolute terms (which countries emit the most CO2-equivalent overall) and per-capita terms (which countries emit the most per person).
Last updated: · figures rounded to nearest 100 MtCO2e for absolute, nearest 0.5 tCO2e for per-capita · sourced from EDGAR v8 + UNFCCC 2024 submissions, reconciled where divergent.
Top emitters: absolute (MtCO2e/year)
Absolute emissions identify the countries whose policy choices most directly shape the global atmospheric trajectory. China alone accounts for nearly 30% of global CO2-equivalent emissions; the top five together account for roughly 60%.
| # | Country | MtCO2e | Global share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 13,800 | 29.2% |
| 2 | United States | 5,500 | 11.6% |
| 3 | India | 3,500 | 7.4% |
| 4 | European Union | 3,000 | 6.3% |
| 5 | Russia | 2,500 | 5.3% |
Top emitters: per capita (tCO2e/person)
Per-capita rankings tell a different story: small fossil-fuel-export economies (Qatar, Kuwait, UAE) dominate the top of the list, with high-income economies like Australia and the United States following. China and India, dominant in absolute terms, fall below the global per-capita average.
| # | Country | tCO2e/person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 37.5 |
| 2 | Kuwait | 25 |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 23 |
| 4 | Australia | 17.5 |
| 5 | United States | 16.3 |
A note on framing
Both rankings above use production-based accounting (UNFCCC convention) and exclude LULUCF for cross-country comparability. Per-capita figures use World Bank mid-year population estimates. For consumption-based and LULUCF-included variants, see individual country pages. Our guide on reading emissions time series explains why these framing choices materially affect the ranking.