Countries With the Fastest Decline in CO2 emissions per capita (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Decline in CO2 emissions per capita (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in CO2 emissions per capita over the five years to each country's latest year, as a percentage of the earlier value. Only countries that fell are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Lebanon fell the most: by 59.3%, from 4.66 t CO2e per person to 1.9 t CO2e per person in the five years to 2024. Estonia is second (−33.4%), followed by Luxembourg (−32.5%). 119 countries fell over that period; the median change among them was −11.9%.

#1: Lebanon · −59.3%
Median: −11.9%
Coverage: 119 countries
Data year: 2024
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (%). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Lebanon -59.3; 2. Estonia -33.4; 3. Luxembourg -32.5; 4. Ukraine -32.3; 5. Finland -30.8; 6. Guam -27.7; 7. Netherlands -27.5; 8. Czechia -26.7; 9. Portugal -26.3; 10. Yemen, Rep. -25.8.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Decline in CO2 emissions per capita (5-Year Change), 2024
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (%)
1	Lebanon	4.66	1.9	−59.3%
2	Estonia	11.7	7.76	−33.4%
3	Luxembourg	15.6	10.6	−32.5%
4	Ukraine	4.62	3.13	−32.3%
5	Finland	7.99	5.54	−30.8%
6	Guam	0.0025	0.0018	−27.7%
7	Netherlands	9.11	6.6	−27.5%
8	Czechia	9.72	7.13	−26.7%
9	Portugal	4.51	3.32	−26.3%
10	Yemen, Rep.	0.352	0.261	−25.8%
11	Malawi	0.295	0.221	−24.9%
12	Macao SAR, China	3.34	2.53	−24.5%
13	Benin	0.64	0.487	−23.8%
14	Liberia	0.2	0.154	−22.8%
15	Syrian Arab Republic	1.64	1.27	−22.1%
16	United Kingdom	5.39	4.22	−21.7%
17	Bulgaria	6.75	5.31	−21.3%
18	Seychelles	9.17	7.24	−21%
19	Cabo Verde	1.63	1.29	−21%
20	Chile	4.96	3.94	−20.6%
21	Hong Kong SAR, China	5.8	4.6	−20.6%
22	Gibraltar	20.2	16.1	−20.1%
23	Israel	7.21	5.77	−20.1%
24	New Zealand	7.49	6.01	−19.7%
25	Trinidad and Tobago	24.4	19.6	−19.6%
26	Venezuela, RB	4.16	3.39	−18.4%
27	Austria	7.75	6.32	−18.4%
28	Barbados	3.09	2.52	−18.3%
29	Gabon	2.49	2.05	−17.9%
30	Ireland	7.31	6.04	−17.4%
31	Denmark	5.17	4.28	−17.3%
32	Namibia	1.46	1.2	−17.2%
33	Germany	8.38	6.94	−17.2%
34	Equatorial Guinea	3.07	2.55	−16.8%
35	Spain	5.4	4.51	−16.5%
36	France	4.79	4	−16.5%
37	Switzerland	4.48	3.75	−16.3%
38	Belgium	8.73	7.31	−16.3%
39	New Caledonia	20.4	17.1	−16.2%
40	Hungary	5.31	4.46	−16.1%
41	São Tomé and Principe	0.746	0.627	−15.9%
42	Sudan	0.515	0.433	−15.9%
43	Norway	8.48	7.18	−15.3%
44	Bhutan	2.36	2.01	−14.8%
45	Cayman Islands	5.84	5	−14.5%
46	Guinea-Bissau	0.181	0.155	−14.2%
47	South Africa	8.01	6.88	−14.2%
48	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	0.053	0.046	−13.8%
49	Slovak Republic	6.38	5.51	−13.6%
50	North Macedonia	4.63	4	−13.5%
51	Canada	16.2	14	−13.5%
52	Botswana	3.15	2.74	−13%
53	United Arab Emirates	20.9	18.3	−12.8%
54	Solomon Islands	0.439	0.384	−12.5%
55	Australia	16.1	14.1	−12.4%
56	Bermuda	4.72	4.14	−12.4%
57	Cameroon	0.403	0.353	−12.2%
58	Greece	5.74	5.05	−12%
59	Myanmar	0.653	0.575	−11.9%
60	Panama	3.11	2.74	−11.9%
61	Slovenia	7.1	6.27	−11.7%
62	Latvia	4.13	3.65	−11.7%
63	Lithuania	5.09	4.49	−11.7%
64	Japan	8.87	7.84	−11.6%
65	Afghanistan	0.32	0.283	−11.5%
66	Paraguay	1.31	1.16	−11.5%
67	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	2.82	2.5	−11.3%
68	Romania	4.19	3.72	−11.2%
69	Angola	0.834	0.742	−11%
70	Timor-Leste	0.56	0.499	−10.8%
71	Korea, Rep.	12.7	11.4	−10.2%
72	Samoa	1.78	1.6	−9.89%
73	Belize	1.03	0.932	−9.66%
74	United States	15	13.6	−9.44%
75	Italy	5.57	5.08	−8.84%
76	Belarus	6.5	5.94	−8.7%
77	Eswatini	0.963	0.88	−8.57%
78	Fiji	1.77	1.62	−8.33%
79	Ethiopia	0.16	0.147	−8.17%
80	Poland	8.22	7.55	−8.14%
81	Albania	1.94	1.79	−8.03%
82	Haiti	0.324	0.298	−7.8%
83	Suriname	4.39	4.06	−7.56%
84	Mexico	3.93	3.64	−7.34%
85	Morocco	1.98	1.84	−7.33%
86	Sweden	3.84	3.57	−6.99%
87	Nigeria	0.602	0.567	−5.82%
88	Pakistan	0.862	0.812	−5.77%
89	Gambia, The	0.189	0.178	−5.76%
90	Faroe Islands	0.041	0.038	−5.22%
91	Algeria	4.2	3.98	−5.14%
92	Jamaica	2.99	2.84	−4.87%
93	Bosnia and Herzegovina	6.75	6.45	−4.52%
94	Guinea	0.369	0.353	−4.48%
95	Malta	3.32	3.18	−4.25%
96	Jordan	2.18	2.09	−4.24%
97	Saudi Arabia	19.3	18.5	−4.15%
98	Kyrgyz Republic	1.55	1.49	−4.12%
99	Turks and Caicos Islands	5.12	4.92	−3.88%
100	Cuba	1.99	1.91	−3.86%

Showing the top 100 of 119. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#1 Lebanon

Lebanon ranks #1 on this list with −59.3%.

Capital: Beirut
Continent: Asia
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 5.85 million people (2025)
GDP: US$25.97 billion (2024)
GDP per person: US$4,473 (2024)
Life expectancy: 77.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 91% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Beirut.

Also ranks #1 in official exchange rate · #2 in smoking prevalence · #7 in refugee population by asylum.

Full country profile

#2 Estonia

Estonia ranks #2 on this list with −33.4%.

Capital: Tallinn
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 1.37 million people (2025)
GDP: US$47.03 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$34,418 (2025)
Life expectancy: 79.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 70.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in account ownership (female) share · #8 in bank accounts share (adults) · #12 in human capital index.

Full country profile

#3 Luxembourg

Luxembourg ranks #3 on this list with −32.5%.

Capital: Luxembourg
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 686,970 people (2025)
GDP: US$101.16 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$147,250 (2025)
Life expectancy: 83.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 94.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in gdp per capita ppp · #2 in trade share of gdp · #3 in gdp per capita.

Full country profile

#4 Ukraine

Ukraine ranks #4 on this list with −32.3%.

Capital: Kyiv
Continent: Europe
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 38.98 million people (2025)
GDP: US$214.23 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$5,866 (2025)
Life expectancy: 74.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 69.6% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa.

Also ranks #1 in net migration · #3 in refugee population by origin · #4 in arable land share.

Full country profile Weather in Kiev (Purr Weather)

#5 Finland

Finland ranks #5 on this list with −30.8%.

Capital: Helsinki
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 5.65 million people (2025)
GDP: US$317.04 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$56,149 (2025)
Life expectancy: 82.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 74.5% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in rule of law score · #2 in bank accounts share (adults) · #2 in control of corruption score.

Full country profile Weather in Helsingfors (Purr Weather)

#6 Guam

Guam ranks #6 on this list with −27.7%.

Capital: Hagåtña
Continent: Oceania
Income group: High income
Population: 169,000 people (2025)
GDP: US$6.91 billion (2022)
GDP per person: US$41,833 (2022)
Life expectancy: 77.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 94.2% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in voice and accountability score · #16 in nurses and midwives per 1,000 · #16 in diabetes prevalence.

Full country profile

#7 Netherlands

Netherlands ranks #7 on this list with −27.5%.

Capital: Amsterdam
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 18.09 million people (2025)
GDP: US$1.33 trillion (2025)
GDP per person: US$73,684 (2025)
Life expectancy: 82 years (2024)
Urban population: 95.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #4 in fdi outflows · #5 in school enrolment (secondary) · #6 in secure internet servers per million.

Full country profile Weather in Amsterdam (Purr Weather)

#8 Czechia

Czechia ranks #8 on this list with −26.7%.

Capital: Prague
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 10.89 million people (2025)
GDP: US$391.03 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$35,917 (2025)
Life expectancy: 80 years (2024)
Urban population: 72.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Prague.

Also ranks #5 in alcohol consumption per capita · #7 in tourism arrivals · #12 in hospital beds per 10,000.

Full country profile Weather in Prague (Purr Weather)

#9 Portugal

Portugal ranks #9 on this list with −26.3%.

Capital: Lisbon
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 10.81 million people (2025)
GDP: US$346.64 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$32,082 (2025)
Life expectancy: 82.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 61.5% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in age dependency ratio (old) · #5 in population ages 65+ share · #5 in physicians per 1,000.

Full country profile Weather in Lisbon (Purr Weather)

#10 Yemen, Rep.

Yemen, Rep. ranks #10 on this list with −25.8%.

Capital: Sanaa, Aden
Continent: Asia
Income group: Low income
Population: 41.77 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 69.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 37% of population (2025)
International tourist arrivals: 398,000 arrivals (2015)
CO2 emissions per person: 0.261 t CO2e per person (2024)

Largest cities: Sanaa, Aden.

Also ranks #2 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #2 in prevalence of wasting (under-5) · #12 in unemployment rate.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Change in CO2 emissions per capita over the five years to each country's latest year, as a percentage of the earlier value. Only countries that fell are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (t CO2e/capita): EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission; International Energy Agency (IEA).

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Lebanon

#2 Estonia

#3 Luxembourg

#4 Ukraine

#5 Finland

#6 Guam

#7 Netherlands

#8 Czechia

#9 Portugal

#10 Yemen, Rep.

Related rankings

Source and method