CO2 Emissions per Capita by Country 2026

Executive summary

This index ranks 49 of the world's largest economies by CO2 emissions per capita, 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. Saudi Arabia leads at 18.5 (2024); Nigeria is lowest among those ranked at 0.6. Sweden ranks 40th of 49 at 3.6 (2024). As reference points, the EU stands at 5.5, the OECD at 7.9 and the world at 4.7. 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

Emissions per person is the fairest single gauge of a country's climate footprint, normalising for population. This index ranks countries by per-capita CO2 emissions.

The ranking looks very different from total emissions: small, wealthy, energy-intensive economies — Gulf petrostates, and resource-rich advanced economies — top it, while populous developing countries with low total-per-head emissions sit far down despite large national totals.

What drives the ranking

Per-capita emissions reflect income, climate (heating and cooling demand), the carbon intensity of electricity, and lifestyle (car dependence, air travel). Decarbonising electricity is the single biggest lever most countries have.

Nordic economies tend to have lower per-capita emissions than their wealth would predict, thanks to hydro, nuclear and district heating — a point of comparison this report highlights via Sweden.

What the data reveals

The field is highly concentrated at the top: the leader, Saudi Arabia, at 18.5 is about 3.4× the median of 5.4 across the 49 economies, and 1.01× the second-placed United Arab Emirates. In other words, CO2 emissions per capita is dominated by a handful of standouts.

Benchmarked against the OECD average of 7.9, 11 of the 49 ranked economies (22%) come out higher, and 27 exceed the world figure of 4.7. This shows how much of the distribution sits above the rich-world benchmark — a quick read on whether CO2 emissions per capita is broadly high or concentrated among a few.

What the data says about Sweden: at 3.6 it ranks 40th of 49 — the bottom quartile — below the median of 5.4. That places Sweden in the lower part of the field on CO2 emissions per capita.

The spread is wide: the upper quartile of economies clusters around 7.7 and the lower quartile around 3.7, while the leader Saudi Arabia is 32.6× the lowest-ranked Nigeria (0.6). The quartile split is a cleaner read on typical CO2 emissions per capita 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 per capita side by side — the clearest snapshot of the range across the 49 ranked economies.

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 per capita 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 per capita for Saudi Arabia (the current leader) against Sweden over the past decade; the table below shows the top economies year by year.

By region

Median CO2 emissions per capita 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 per capita over the available window — where the action has been.

Full ranking — 49 economies

Complete ranking by CO2 emissions per capita, 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 per capita 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. Production-based per-capita figures exclude imported emissions and say nothing about historical cumulative responsibility, which is far more concentrated in early-industrialised countries. Confidence: High (official multilateral source).

Data dictionary

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Co2 Emissions Per Capita

CO2 emissions per capita (t) — 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 per capita (t)
• World Bank Open Data (home)
• IMF World Economic Outlook (comparison)
• OECD Data
• Affärslivet — Sweden Economic Indicators

Related reports & data

• Internet Usage by Country 2026
• R&D Spending by Country 2026
• Affärslivet Business Climate Index
• Sweden Economic Indicators