World CO2 emissions per capita, 1970 to 2024
World CO2 emissions per capita stood at 5 in 2024, up 0.3% on the previous period.
Carbon dioxide emitted per person worldwide, in tonnes of CO2 per year, from the World Bank's climate indicators (EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, compiled from the EDGAR emissions database). The figure counts CO2 from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes, excludes land use and forestry, and divides by mid-year world population. Per-person terms separate emission intensity from population growth, which is why the measure anchors most climate fairness comparisons between countries.
The world average has stayed inside a narrow band for the whole series: between 3.94 tonnes at the 1994 low and 4.81 tonnes at the 2013 peak, with the 2024 reading at 4.69. That flatness is not good news by itself. Population kept growing over the same years, so a flat per-person line means total emissions kept rising; the plateau reflects offsetting forces, rising energy use in developing economies against falling emission intensity in wealthy ones.
What is included in the figure?
Why per capita instead of totals?
Does the flat line mean emissions stopped rising?
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