Countries by Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e)
China leads all 192 ranked countries in methane emissions from fugitive energy sources at 736.76 Mt CO2e, more than 4.4 times the United States at rank 2 with 418.87 Mt CO2e. At the other end, eight countries including Iceland, Malta, and Antigua and Barbuda record exactly zero emissions under this metric. The gap between first and last reflects the vast differences in fossil fuel extraction, coal mining, and petroleum infrastructure across economies.
Ranking 2024
Analysis
This metric measures annual methane (CH4) emissions from fugitive emissions within the energy sector, expressed in megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e). According to the source definition, it includes IPCC 2006 codes 1.A.1.bc Petroleum Refining — Manufacture of Solid Fuels and Other Energy Industries, 1.B.1 Solid Fuels, 1.B.2 Oil and Natural Gas, and 5.B, standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using Global Warming Potential factors under the AR5 framework. The indicator code is EN.GHG.CH4.FE.MT.CE.AR5, drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators for data year 2024. Coverage is complete: all 192 ranked countries have data, 100% from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official quality. The dataset contains 36 extreme outliers as identified by a 3-sigma threshold, and values range from 0.00 to 736.76 Mt CO2e, a spread the viability checks flag at 999%. Higher values indicate greater fugitive methane emissions.
China (rank 1, 736.76 Mt CO2e) and the United States (rank 2, 418.87 Mt CO2e) are in a tier of their own, together accounting for a dominant share of global totals in this ranking. Indonesia (rank 3, 283.20 Mt CO2e) and the Russian Federation (rank 4, 263.09 Mt CO2e) form a second tier, followed by Iraq (rank 5, 145.34 Mt CO2e) and Iran (rank 6, 132.92 Mt CO2e). India ranks 7th at 108.12 Mt CO2e. These placements at the top are consistent with large-scale coal mining activity, major oil and gas extraction, and extensive petroleum refining infrastructure, all of which are covered by the IPCC codes this indicator tracks. Nigeria (rank 8, 75.63 Mt CO2e), Canada (rank 9, 71.72 Mt CO2e), and Saudi Arabia (rank 10, 69.55 Mt CO2e) round out the top ten.
Mongolia at rank 11 with 44.99 Mt CO2e is a notable placement, ranking ahead of Australia (rank 12, 43.21 Mt CO2e), Ukraine (rank 13, 40.73 Mt CO2e), and South Africa (rank 14, 40.00 Mt CO2e), reflecting substantial solid fuel activity relative to its population size. In the middle of the ranking, countries such as Poland (rank 31, 14.09 Mt CO2e), Gabon (rank 32, 13.97 Mt CO2e), and the Philippines (rank 34, 12.67 Mt CO2e) appear alongside larger economies like Argentina (rank 35, 12.58 Mt CO2e) and Mexico (rank 39, 11.80 Mt CO2e). Several European economies with major energy infrastructure rank comparatively low: Germany is rank 43 at 9.52 Mt CO2e, Italy rank 56 at 4.49 Mt CO2e, and Sweden rank 134 at 0.21 Mt CO2e. Eight countries record a value of exactly zero: Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Iceland, Malta, Seychelles, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
A key limitation is that this metric captures only fugitive emissions from the energy sector as defined by the specified IPCC codes. Methane from agriculture, waste, or other non-energy sources is excluded entirely. Reported values depend on the quality of national inventory systems, which vary across countries. Economies with less developed monitoring infrastructure may under-report fugitive emissions, particularly from diffuse sources such as coal mine ventilation or small-scale oil and gas operations. The 36 extreme outliers identified at the 3-sigma threshold suggest that a small number of very large emitters skew the distribution significantly, which users should account for when interpreting mid-ranking positions. Zero values for some small island states may reflect both genuinely negligible activity and gaps in granular reporting rather than confirmed absence of all fugitive emissions.
Methodology
Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code EN.GHG.CH4.FE.MT.CE.AR5, for data year 2024. The metric measures annual emissions of methane (CH4), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases, from fugitive emissions (subsector of the energy sector) including IPCC 2006 codes 1.A.1.bc Petroleum Refining - Manufacture of Solid Fuels and Other Energy Industries, 1.B.1 Solid Fuels, 1.B.2 Oil and Natural Gas, 5.B. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential factors under the AR5 framework. Values are expressed in megatonnes of CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2e). The ranking covers 192 countries, all with data from the last seven years (100% recency) and 100% official data quality. Viability checks identified 36 extreme outliers using a 3-sigma threshold. The dataset ranges from 0.00 to 736.76 Mt CO2e, flagged at a 999% spread. Average year-over-year change is 10.9%, within the 50% volatility threshold. Higher values indicate greater fugitive methane emissions and are treated as higher-ranked under this metric's configuration.