The Carbon Footprint
CO₂ emissions per capita, six major economies, 2000 to today
- Unit
- Tonnes per person
- Frequency
- Annual
- Coverage
- 2000–2024
- Evidence Quality
- High
CO₂ emissions per person — the US still highest but falling, China risen past Europe, India lowest by far.
World Bank WDI · CO₂ emissions per capita (t) · EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5
Line chart, 2000 to 2024. CO₂ emissions per capita (tonnes). 6 series: United States, China, India, Germany, Japan and Brazil. United States is highlighted; its latest reading is 13.6 in 2024.
Question
Who emits the most carbon per person — and how is the ranking changing?
Evidence
Per-capita CO₂ emissions divide a country's carbon by its population, the measure at the heart of the climate-fairness debate. The United States remains the highest of the six, though it has fallen from about 21 tonnes per person toward 14 as coal gave way to gas and renewables. The striking move is China: its per-capita emissions tripled and now exceed Germany and Japan. India stays lowest, near 2 tonnes, despite its vast total.
Observation
Read level, slope and timing together.
This is emissions per person, not per country — a fair-shares lens that looks very different from total emissions, where the ranking flips.
Assessment
- The US is still the per-capita leader here, but its footprint is shrinking as its power mix cleans up.
- China's per-capita emissions tripled and have overtaken Europe and Japan — the biggest change on the chart.
- India remains lowest by far, near 2 tonnes per person, a fraction of the advanced economies.
Advantage
- What about total emissions?The Emitters
- How clean is the power grid?The Green Grid
- How much energy per person?Climbing the Energy Ladder