Countries by Carbon intensity of GDP (kg CO2e per constant 2015 US$ of GDP)
Palau ranks 1st globally on carbon intensity of GDP with a value of 6.01 kg CO2e per constant 2015 US dollar, more than 90 times the value recorded by Switzerland at rank 188 (0.042). The spread across 199 countries runs from 6.01 down to 0.00, with Nauru and Tuvalu both recording zero. This gap reflects extreme variation in how much CO2 economies emit per unit of output.
Ranking 2024
Analysis
This metric measures how much carbon dioxide an economy emits relative to the size of its GDP. The indicator used is EN.GHG.CO2.RT.GDP.KD from the World Bank World Development Indicators, with data anchored to 2024. Per the source definition, it covers annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF, divided by the GDP in constant 2021 US$. The unit is kilograms of CO2 equivalent per constant 2015 US dollar of GDP, and a higher value indicates greater carbon intensity. The dataset covers 199 countries, with 197 of those (99.0%) drawing on data from the last seven years. All 199 datapoints are classified as official quality. The viability check identified 28 extreme outliers using a 3-sigma threshold, and the data range spans 0.00 to 6.01, a spread of 999.0 percent.
The top of the ranking is led by Palau at rank 1 with a value of 6.01, a figure so far above rank 2 Venezuela (2.26) that it registers as an extreme outlier in the dataset. Ranks 3 through 10 include Syria (1.95), Mongolia (1.70), Iran (1.55), Ukraine (1.51), Turkmenistan (1.32), Russia (1.25), Iraq (1.24), and Lao PDR (1.23). South Africa (rank 11, 1.20) and Trinidad and Tobago (rank 12, 1.20) are close behind. Several of these high-ranking countries are major fossil fuel producers or rely heavily on carbon-intensive energy infrastructure, patterns visible directly in the ranking data though the specific causes are not attributed here.
The middle of the ranking includes countries such as Mexico at rank 78 (0.353), Turkey at rank 79 (0.349), and the Philippines at rank 72 (0.383). The United States ranks 137th with a value of 0.205, placing it below Australia (rank 129, 0.229) and Canada (rank 92, 0.315). Notably, Canada at rank 92 has a carbon intensity more than three times higher than the United States despite both being high-income economies. At the lower end, countries such as France (rank 178, 0.101), Norway (rank 181, 0.090), Sweden (rank 185, 0.066), and Switzerland (rank 188, 0.042) post very low values. Nauru and Tuvalu both record values of exactly 0.00 and share rank 198.
Several data limitations apply to this metric. The exclusion of land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) means that countries with significant forestry-related emissions or sequestration are not fully represented. GDP is measured in constant 2021 US dollars, meaning currency conversion and deflation choices can affect cross-country comparability. Small economies with narrow GDP bases, such as Palau (rank 1, 6.01), can show extreme intensity values that reflect economic scale rather than absolute emission levels. The 28 extreme outliers identified at the 3-sigma threshold suggest that the distribution is heavily skewed and summary averages may not represent typical country performance. Consistency across the latest year (2024) reaches 92.5 percent, meaning a minority of country values may draw on earlier vintages.
Methodology
Rankings are based on the World Bank World Development Indicators indicator EN.GHG.CO2.RT.GDP.KD, with a reference data year of 2024. Per the source definition, the metric covers annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF, divided by the GDP in constant 2021 US$. The unit is kilograms of CO2 equivalent per constant 2015 US dollar of GDP; higher values indicate greater carbon intensity and are ranked higher. The dataset includes 199 countries. Coverage is 99.0 percent for data recency within the last seven years (197 of 199 countries), and 100.0 percent of datapoints are classified as official quality. Consistency in the latest reference year (2024) stands at 92.5 percent (184 of 199 countries). Viability checks identified 28 extreme outliers using a 3-sigma threshold. The full data range runs from 0.00 to 6.01, a spread of 999.0 percent. Average year-over-year change across the dataset is 6.2 percent. LULUCF emissions are excluded from the numerator, and GDP base-year conversion choices may affect comparability across countries.