Geographical breakdown and trends in GHG emissions

Geographical breakdown of worldwide GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF)

In Mt CO₂ eq

	1990	2022	2023	2023 share (%)	2022-2023 change (%)	1990-2023 change (%)
North America	7,232	7,479	7,421	14.0	-0.8	+2.6
Canada	582	745	748	1.4	+0.3	+28.5
United States	6,209	6,046	5,961	11.3	-1.4	-4.0
Central and South America	1,643	2,760	2,785	5.3	+0.9	+69.5
Brazil	672	1,298	1,300	2.5	+0.1	+93.6
EU 27	4,887	3,499	3,239	6.1	-7.4	-33.7
Rest of Europe and Russia	5,993	4,337	4,357	8.2	+0.4	-27.3
United Kingdom	761	408	381	0.7	-6.7	-50.0
Russia	3,066	2,622	2,672	5.0	+1.9	-12.8
Sub-Saharan Africa	1,280	2,337	2,354	4.4	+0.7	+83.8
Middle East and North Africa	1,764	4,524	4,605	8.7	+1.8	+161.0
Saudi Arabia	237	787	805	1.5	+2.3	+240.4
Asia	8,729	25,210	26,287	49.6	+4.3	+201.2
China	3,917	15,201	15,987	30.2	+5.2	+308.2
South Korea	325	668	654	1.2	-2.2	+101.1
India	1,383	3,897	4,134	7.8	+6.1	+198.9
Japan	1,317	1,108	1,041	2.0	-6.0	-21.0
Oceania	539	665	669	1.3	+0.6	+24.1
OECD countries (see glossary)	15,189	14,616	14,226	26.9	-2.7	-6.3
Non-OECD countries	16,878	36,197	37,492	70.8	+3.6	+122.1
International air routes	264	417	498	0.9	+19.5	+88.5
International sea routes	395	739	747	1.4	+1.1	+88.9
Worldwide	32,726	51,969	52,963	100.0	+1.9	+61.8

Note: these are GHG emissions for a given territory, estimated using a different methodology from official national inventories. International bunkers correspond to emissions from international sea and air transport, which are excluded from national totals (see glossary).
Source: EDGAR, 2024

According to figures from the EDGAR database (see glossary), global GHG emissions increased in 2023 (+1.9%, after +0.8% in 2022) due to growth in emissions on all continents, with the exception of the European Union and North America. International air transport continues to recover (+19.5%), but remains below 2019 levels, while maritime transport increases by 1.1%. In 2024, global GHG emissions rose by 1.3% (EDGAR, 2025).

Worldwide GHG emissions between 1970 and 2023

Source: EDGAR, 2024

In 2023, China remains the world's leading GHG emitter (30% of global emissions), ahead of the United States (11%), India (7.8%) and the European Union (6.1%).

Between 1990 and 2023, annual global GHG emissions rose by 62% (i.e. +20.2 Gt CO₂ eq). The biggest contributors to this increase are China (+308%, i.e. +12.1 Gt CO₂ eq), India (+199%, i.e. +2.8 Gt CO₂ eq) and the Middle East and North Africa (+161%, i.e. +2.8 Gt CO₂ eq).

Over the same period, emissions in the United States began to fall (-4.0%); the decline was even more marked for the European Union (-33.7%) and France (-25.9%)².

² These trends are calculated on the basis of estimates from the EDGAR database and differ from the figures in the UNFCCC inventories: -36% for the European Union and -31% for France (see p. 44 and following).

Cumulative CO₂ emissions since 1750 by major world region

Note: emissions from fossil carbon combustion (excluding LULUCF and international transport) from 1750 to 2023.
Source: The Global Carbon Project's fossil CO₂ emissions dataset, Andrew, Robbie M. & Peters, Glen P., 2024

Since the start of the industrial era, Europe and Russia have contributed just under a third and the United States over a quarter of cumulative CO₂ emissions. Asia now accounts for a third of cumulative global emissions since 1750, and China for 15%.

Worldwide per capita GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF)

In tCO₂ eq/capita

	1990	2022	2023	2022-2023 change (%)	1990-2023 change (%)
North America	20.1	14.9	14.6	-1.8	-27.0
Canada	21.0	19.1	18.7	-2.5	-11.2
United States	24.8	18.1	17.7	-2.2	-28.8
Central and South America	4.6	5.3	5.3	+0.3	+15.0
Brazil	4.5	6.2	6.2	-0.3	+36.8
EU 27	11.6	7.8	7.2	-7.8	-38.0
Germany	15.6	9.1	8.1	-10.6	-47.8
Spain	7.7	6.4	5.9	-7.5	-22.9
France	9.2	6.3	5.8	-7.3	-36.9
Italy	9.0	6.8	6.3	-7.2	-29.7
Poland	13.5	10.8	9.9	-8.1	-26.3
Rest of Europe and Russia	16.2	11.0	11.1	+0.8	-31.5
United Kingdom	13.2	6.0	5.5	-7.9	-58.2
Russia	20.7	18.2	18.6	+2.2	-10.3
Sub-Saharan Africa	2.5	1.9	1.9	-1.8	-23.9
Middle East & North Africa	5.7	7.8	7.8	-0.1	+36.7
Saudi Arabia	22.2	24.5	23.9	-2.3	+7.5
Asia	3.0	5.9	6.2	+3.7	+105.5
China	3.4	10.7	11.3	+5.3	+228.3
South Korea	7.6	12.9	12.6	-2.2	+66.7
India	1.6	2.7	2.9	+5.1	+79.8
Japan	10.7	8.9	8.4	-5.6	-21.6
Oceania	21.6	15.7	15.5	-1.7	-28.4
OECD countries (see glossary)	13.8	10.7	10.3	-3.3	-25.3
Non-OECD countries	4.0	5.5	5.6	+2.6	+39.5
World	6.2	6.5	6.6	+1.0	+6.3

Note: these are the GHG emissions of an area (estimated using a different methodology from official national inventories) divided by its population. The emissions that an average inhabitant causes through his or her consumption are covered by a different approach (footprint approach, see p. 65).
Sources: SDES, based on EDGAR, 2024; World Bank, 2024

In 2023, global GHG emissions averaged 6.6 t CO₂ eq per capita, up on 2022 (+1.0%) but still below 2019 (-0.4%). While population growth remained at a similar level to the previous year (+0.9%), global emissions continued to rise more rapidly (+1.9%).

Per capita emissions show major geographical disparities, with low levels in Central and South America (5.3 t CO₂ eq/inhab), India (2.9) and sub-Saharan Africa (1.9). Average emissions in the European Union (7.2 t CO₂ eq/cap) are higher, although lower than in the USA (17.7), Canada (18.7), Russia (18.6) and China (11.3) in particular. France's emissions (5.8) are slightly below the world average.

Worldwide per capita GHG emissions between 1990 and 2023

Sources: SDES, based on EDGAR, 2024; World Bank, 2024

In 2023, global per capita emissions were 6.3% higher than in 1990, reaching 6.6 t CO₂ eq/capita. OECD member countries (see glossary) have a higher average level of emissions (10.3 t CO₂ eq/capita in 2023), but this has been falling over the past 30 years (-25.3% since 1990). Emissions in other countries are 1.8 times lower on average (5.6 t CO₂ eq/capita), but have risen sharply since 1990 (+39.5%).

In detail, per capita emissions in Asia rose by 105.5% between 1990 and 2023 (+228% in China, +80% in India but -22% in Japan). Over the same period, per capita emissions fell by 58% in the UK, 38% in the European Union (including -37% in France and -48% in Germany), and 29% in the USA. In sub-Saharan Africa, strong population growth means that per-capita emissions are 24% lower than in 1990, keeping them at a low level (1.9 t CO₂ eq/capita in 2023).

Worldwide GHG emissions relative to GDP (excluding LULUCF)

In t CO₂ eq/million $2021 PPP

	1990	2022	2023	2022-2023 change (%)	1990-2023 change (%)
North America	531	255	246	-3.5	-53.6
Canada	519	328	324	-1.2	-37.5
United States	561	249	239	-4.2	-57.4
Central and South America	443	305	302	-1.0	-31.8
Brazil	356	333	323	-3.0	-9.5
EU 27	348	145	134	-7.9	-61.5
Germany	367	144	130	-10.3	-64.7
Spain	241	137	125	-8.8	-48.3
France	239	118	108	-7.9	-54.7
Italy	211	130	120	-7.8	-43.1
Poland	1,050	249	227	-8.6	-78.4
Rest of Europe and Russia	661	329	321	-2.4	-51.4
United Kingdom	388	114	106	-7.0	-72.7
Russia	699	468	458	-2.1	-34.5
Sub-Saharan Africa	740	444	436	-1.8	-41.1
Middle East & North Africa	475	369	364	-1.3	-23.3
Saudi Arabia	341	364	370	+1.8	+8.7
Asia	731	391	387	-1.0	-47.1
China	1,873	492	491	-0.3	-73.8
South Korea	548	260	251	-3.5	-54.2
India	726	318	309	-2.9	-57.4
Japan	302	197	182	-7.4	-39.7
Oceania	733	358	349	-2.5	-52.4
OECD countries (see glossary)	416	205	196	-4.4	-52.9
Non-OECD countries	735	399	395	-1.1	-46.3
Worldwide	550	321	316	-1.5	-42.6

Note: these are the GHG emissions of a given territory, estimated using a different methodology from official national inventories. GDP in volume, converted into US dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP), for the year 2021 (see glossary).
Sources: SDES, based on EDGAR, 2024; World Bank, 2024

Although less dispersed than per capita emissions levels, emissions-to-GDP ratios vary widely between countries, around a global average of 316 t CO₂ eq/million $. Some of the highest values are found in China (491 t CO₂ eq/million $) and Russia (458). Conversely, levels are much lower in Japan (182), the United States (239) and the European Union (134), particularly France (108).

Evolution of worldwide GHG emissions relative to GDP between 1990 and 2023

Sources: SDES, based EDGAR, 2024; World Bank, 2024

Between 2022 and 2023, the quantity of GHGs emitted per unit of GDP worldwide fell by 1.5%, a slightly slower rate than that observed on average over the last ten years (-2.3%). This is due to a slower growth in emissions (+1.9%) than in GDP (+3.4% in 2023).

Since 1990, the quantity of GHGs emitted per unit of GDP has fallen by more than a third (-43%) in the world, while GDP itself has increased by a factor of 2.9. With very few exceptions, the majority of the world's economies are concerned by this drop in the GHG intensity of wealth production. The reduction is most pronounced in China (-74%), a country with a particularly high historical level. Intensity has also been more than halved in the European Union (-62%) and the United States (-57%).