CO2 Emissions by Country 2026

Executive summary

This index ranks 49 of the world's largest economies by CO2 emissions, using World Bank Open Data for cross-country comparability, and goes beyond a single snapshot: it shows the nominal figure, a ten-year history, a regional breakdown and the biggest movers. China leads at 13,124.7 (2024); Iceland is lowest among those ranked at 3.3. Sweden ranks 42nd of 49 at 37.8 (2024). As reference points, the EU stands at 2,462.4, the OECD at 11,059.5 and the world at 39,632.7. Every figure carries its World Bank series and reference year, and the complete dataset is free to download as CSV and JSON under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Key findings

Overview

Carbon-dioxide emissions are the primary driver of climate change, and total national emissions determine each country's contribution to the global stock. This index ranks countries by annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry.

A handful of large economies dominate: the biggest emitters are, unsurprisingly, the biggest economies with the biggest populations. But total emissions say little about efficiency or fairness — for that, emissions per person (a separate index) matters more.

What drives the ranking

Total emissions track the size of an economy, its energy mix (coal vs gas vs renewables), and its industrial structure. Manufacturing- and coal-heavy economies emit far more than services-based or nuclear/hydro-powered ones of similar size.

Emissions have decoupled from growth in much of the advanced world, which is cutting emissions while still expanding GDP, even as global totals keep rising on the back of emerging-economy industrialisation.

What the data reveals

The field is highly concentrated at the top: the leader, China, at 13,124.7 is about 65.4× the median of 200.6 across the 49 economies, and 2.83× the second-placed United States. In other words, CO2 emissions is dominated by a handful of standouts.

Benchmarked against the OECD average of 11,059.5, 1 of the 49 ranked economies (2%) come out higher, and 0 exceed the world figure of 39,632.7. This shows how much of the distribution sits above the rich-world benchmark — a quick read on whether CO2 emissions is broadly high or concentrated among a few.

What the data says about Sweden: at 37.8 it ranks 42nd of 49 — the bottom quartile — below the median of 200.6. That places Sweden in the lower part of the field on CO2 emissions.

Because this is a total rather than a rate, scale dominates: the top five economies alone account for about 70% of the combined 33,894.7 across all 49 ranked economies — a reminder that a few large players drive the global aggregate.

The spread is wide: the upper quartile of economies clusters around 468.0 and the lower quartile around 57.8, while the leader China is 3985.6× the lowest-ranked Iceland (3.3). The quartile split is a cleaner read on typical CO2 emissions than a simple average, which a few extreme values can distort.

Top 5 vs bottom 5

The five highest and five lowest economies on CO2 emissions side by side — the clearest snapshot of the range across the 49 ranked economies.

How concentrated is it?

The distribution is heavily skewed: the top five economies account for about 70.5% of the combined CO2 emissions across all 49 ranked, and the Herfindahl–Hirschman index is 1,852 — approaching the 2,500 level economists use to flag a highly concentrated field. The average hides how much sits at the very top.

Limitations & notes

This ranking uses the latest year each economy reports to the World Bank; reporting lags differ, so some countries carry data a year or two older than others (see the year column in the full table). It measures CO2 emissions as the source defines it — not its causes, quality, or wider welfare implications, and not any single 'best' outcome. Every figure is an official World Bank series, not an Affärslivet estimate; the complete dataset with per-country years and sources is free to download and reproduce below.

How it has changed over time

The chart tracks CO2 emissions for China (the current leader) against Sweden over the past decade; the table below shows the top economies year by year.

By region

Median CO2 emissions by world region among the ranked economies. Regional medians reveal patterns the country ranking alone can hide.

Biggest movers

The largest changes in CO2 emissions over the available window — where the action has been.

Full ranking — 49 economies

Complete ranking by CO2 emissions, most recent World Bank data, with world region. Region aggregates (EU, OECD, World) appear in the At-a-glance box as reference points.

Scoreboard (machine-readable data)

Every headline indicator with its value, period, source and confidence. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

↓ CSV · ↓ JSON

Methodology & verification

Economies are ranked by CO2 emissions using the World Bank Open Data API, which harmonises national statistics for cross-country comparison. Each value is the most recent year available for that economy, shown alongside the figure; the trend table uses each economy's reported history. Economies with no reported value are omitted rather than estimated. Region aggregates (EU, euro area, OECD, World) are reference points, not ranked. These are territorial (production-based) emissions and exclude those embodied in imported goods; a country that offshores manufacturing can appear cleaner than its consumption implies. Confidence: High (official multilateral source).

Data dictionary

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Co2 Emissions

CO2 emissions (Mt) — as reported by the World Bank. ↗

World Bank Open Data

A free, authoritative database of harmonised economic indicators for every country. ↗

Purchasing-power parity (PPP)

A conversion that equalises the price of a comparable basket of goods across countries, so output and incomes can be compared in real terms rather than at market exchange rates. ↗

Nominal (current US$)

A value converted at prevailing market exchange rates and not adjusted for differences in price levels. ↗

GNI per capita

Gross national income per person — like GDP per capita but including net income earned abroad; useful where cross-border corporate flows are large. ↗

Reference year

The year a figure applies to; it can differ across countries because national statistics are published on different schedules. ↗

Region aggregate

A World Bank grouping (e.g. European Union, OECD, World) whose value is a weighted regional total or average, shown here for reference rather than ranked. ↗

Sources

• World Bank Open Data — CO2 emissions (Mt)
• Climate data via World Bank / EDGAR
• World Bank Open Data (home)
• IMF World Economic Outlook (comparison)
• OECD Data
• Affärslivet — Sweden Economic Indicators

Related reports & data

• Renewable Energy by Country 2026
• Life Expectancy by Country 2026
• Health Spending by Country 2026
• Education Spending by Country 2026
• Affärslivet Business Climate Index
• Sweden Economic Indicators