Countries by methane emissions

China had the highest methane emissions of 217 countries in 2019, at 51,373.4 thousand tonnes of methane. Tokelau had the lowest, at 0 thousand tonnes of methane. The median was 280.8 thousand tonnes of methane. Source: the European Commission, Joint Research Centre.

Highest51,373.4China
Lowest0Tokelau
Median280.8217 countries

Top 40 countries, 2019

China: 51,373.4 thousand tonnes of methaneChina51,373.4United States: 30,069.5 thousand tonnes of methaneUnited States30,069.5India: 27,392.4 thousand tonnes of methaneIndia27,392.4Brazil: 20,512.4 thousand tonnes of methaneBrazil20,512.4Russia: 14,839.8 thousand tonnes of methaneRussia14,839.8Indonesia: 12,691.6 thousand tonnes of methaneIndonesia12,691.6Pakistan: 7,756.1 thousand tonnes of methanePakistan7,756.1Nigeria: 6,761.6 thousand tonnes of methaneNigeria6,761.6Iraq: 5,618.4 thousand tonnes of methaneIraq5,618.4Australia: 4,852 thousand tonnes of methaneAustralia4,852Argentina: 4,822.7 thousand tonnes of methaneArgentina4,822.7Mexico: 4,739.1 thousand tonnes of methaneMexico4,739.1Iran: 4,645.6 thousand tonnes of methaneIran4,645.6Canada: 4,620.4 thousand tonnes of methaneCanada4,620.4Vietnam: 4,215.9 thousand tonnes of methaneVietnam4,215.9Ethiopia: 3,910.5 thousand tonnes of methaneEthiopia3,910.5Saudi Arabia: 3,684.9 thousand tonnes of methaneSaudi Arabia3,684.9South Africa: 3,087.8 thousand tonnes of methaneSouth Africa3,087.8Colombia: 3,008 thousand tonnes of methaneColombia3,008Myanmar: 2,687.6 thousand tonnes of methaneMyanmar2,687.6Thailand: 2,583.6 thousand tonnes of methaneThailand2,583.6Bangladesh: 2,572.9 thousand tonnes of methaneBangladesh2,572.9Türkiye: 2,567.5 thousand tonnes of methaneTürkiye2,567.5Philippines: 2,540.6 thousand tonnes of methanePhilippines2,540.6France: 2,509 thousand tonnes of methaneFrance2,509Ukraine: 2,264 thousand tonnes of methaneUkraine2,264Kenya: 2,192.1 thousand tonnes of methaneKenya2,192.1Uzbekistan: 2,174.1 thousand tonnes of methaneUzbekistan2,174.1Germany: 2,129.9 thousand tonnes of methaneGermany2,129.9Egypt: 2,085.5 thousand tonnes of methaneEgypt2,085.5United Kingdom: 2,057.7 thousand tonnes of methaneUnited Kingdom2,057.7Chad: 2,030.3 thousand tonnes of methaneChad2,030.3Japan: 1,941.1 thousand tonnes of methaneJapan1,941.1Algeria: 1,911.1 thousand tonnes of methaneAlgeria1,911.1Kazakhstan: 1,878.7 thousand tonnes of methaneKazakhstan1,878.7Venezuela: 1,873.1 thousand tonnes of methaneVenezuela1,873.1Tanzania: 1,721.2 thousand tonnes of methaneTanzania1,721.2Italy: 1,712.4 thousand tonnes of methaneItaly1,712.4Poland: 1,707.1 thousand tonnes of methanePoland1,707.1Spain: 1,606.8 thousand tonnes of methaneSpain1,606.8
thousand tonnes of methane. Source: EDGAR (European Commission, JRC), EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2019
thousand tonnes of methane
Change on 2018
1China51,373.4+0.2%
2United States30,069.5+2.8%
3India27,392.40%
4Brazil20,512.4+0.4%
5Russia14,839.8+1.7%
6Indonesia12,691.6+6.3%
7Pakistan7,756.1+2.7%
8Nigeria6,761.6+4%
9Iraq5,618.4+3.4%
10Australia4,852-0.3%
11Argentina4,822.7+1%
12Mexico4,739.1+1.6%
13Iran4,645.6-11.1%
14Canada4,620.4-0.8%
15Vietnam4,215.9+0.2%
16Ethiopia3,910.5+6.7%
17Saudi Arabia3,684.9-2.1%
18South Africa3,087.8-0.7%
19Colombia3,008+3.7%
20Myanmar2,687.6-1.4%
21Thailand2,583.6-2.9%
22Bangladesh2,572.9+0.8%
23Türkiye2,567.5+2.6%
24Philippines2,540.6+1%
25France2,509-0.2%
26Ukraine2,264-1%
27Kenya2,192.1+12.1%
28Uzbekistan2,174.1+2.5%
29Germany2,129.9-3.4%
30Egypt2,085.5-9.3%
31United Kingdom2,057.7-1.3%
32Chad2,030.3+5.8%
33Japan1,941.1-1%
34Algeria1,911.1-1%
35Kazakhstan1,878.7-5.9%
36Venezuela1,873.1-6.5%
37Tanzania1,721.2+5.1%
38Italy1,712.4-0.5%
39Poland1,707.1-2.5%
40Spain1,606.8-1.4%
41South Korea1,561.7-0%
42Mongolia1,335.1+6.1%
43Kuwait1,321.9-0.9%
44Angola1,297-0.5%
45New Zealand1,293.8-1.1%
46Uganda1,165.3+5.7%
47United Arab Emirates1,136.9+3.2%
48Democratic Republic of the Congo1,066.5+3.2%
49Nepal1,015.7+1.1%
50Oman994.8+0.3%
51Morocco991.2+3.6%
52Libya972.5+9.7%
53Paraguay967+1.9%
54Turkmenistan929.6+0.2%
55Uruguay922.7-0.1%
56Malaysia911.3-1.9%
57Cambodia907.3+0.2%
58Somalia896.2+1.9%
59Mali891.5+0.5%
60Peru887.9+0.9%
61Bolivia846.9+0.6%
62Niger838.3+4.7%
63Bahrain835.6+3.1%
64Chile800.5+0.6%
65Ecuador799.8+3.6%
66North Korea795.4+7.1%
67Madagascar788.9+4.4%
68Cameroon749.8+2.2%
69Qatar726.6-4.4%
70Netherlands692.1-0.4%
71Belarus676.20%
72Burkina Faso676.1+2.9%
73Romania672.40%
74Ireland645.3-0.2%
75Ghana601.3+5%
76Republic of the Congo586.7+2.7%
77Mozambique568.1-13.3%
78Taiwan564.4+0.2%
79Afghanistan554.6+0.7%
80Zambia551.9+6.5%
81Guinea541.8+4%
82Azerbaijan540.2+1.7%
83Czechia495.1+0.5%
84Cuba472+0.6%
85Gabon447.3+13.4%
86Yemen446+7.2%
87Belgium441.9-0.3%
88Guatemala422.5+2.5%
89Côte d’Ivoire419.4+5.6%
90Dominican Republic410.9+1.9%
91Portugal402.5+1.8%
92Greece396.8-2.7%
93Laos396.2+2.2%
94Zimbabwe394.4-2.2%
95Hungary384.4-0.7%
96Senegal384.3+1%
97Nicaragua352.3+1.9%
98Sweden324.5+1.9%
99Kyrgyzstan315.1+2.4%
100Tajikistan315+2.2%
101Honduras312+2.3%
102Norway308.9-2.9%
103Haiti304.9-1.7%
104Denmark300.7-1%
105Mauritania300.4+1.8%
106Austria293.6-1.6%
107Tunisia287.9-0.8%
108Bulgaria287.8-2.3%
109Sri Lanka280.8-1.7%
110Malawi275.1+11.2%
111Central African Republic262.3+2.6%
112Finland248.4-0.6%
113Syria241.5-5.8%
114Benin221.7+3.4%
115Switzerland212.2-0.6%
116Bosnia and Herzegovina204.6-3.9%
117Namibia203.1+2.5%
118Slovakia192.5-1.5%
119Trinidad and Tobago189+1.3%
120Jordan186+4.6%
121Costa Rica180.9+2.7%
122Rwanda179.2+3.1%
123Hong Kong166.8+1.9%
124Togo166.7+4.1%
125Panama165.8-0.3%
126Equatorial Guinea158.5-8.7%
127Sierra Leone157.2+3.4%
128Croatia152.9-0.5%
129Georgia147.1-1.7%
130Burundi146.9+6.2%
131Eritrea143.7+0.9%
132Singapore141.7+3%
133Lithuania135.4-2.3%
134Lebanon132.4+4.1%
135El Salvador123.9+0.3%
136Slovenia116.5-0.7%
137Botswana115.9-8.3%
138Albania103-4.9%
139Liberia101.2+3.9%
140Papua New Guinea98.5+5.6%
141Moldova98-4%
142Armenia87.6-3.2%
143Estonia81.7-19%
144Latvia74.7-0.3%
145Guinea-Bissau73.9+2.7%
146Guyana71.3+5%
147Brunei70.7-1.6%
148Puerto Rico55.7-1.2%
149Lesotho53.5-8%
150North Macedonia52.3-4.4%
151Eswatini46.4+3.7%
152Djibouti41.3+3.3%
153Timor-Leste40+14.2%
154Cyprus39.5+1.1%
155Gambia38.1-0%
156Suriname38+3.2%
157Bhutan36.2-1.9%
158Jamaica31.2-3.7%
159Fiji27.5+12.3%
160Luxembourg23.5-2.3%
161Mauritius20.3+1.4%
162Iceland19.2-5.4%
163Comoros13.9+4%
164Bahamas11.9+2.4%
165Western Sahara11.9+2.1%
166Belize9.8+1.2%
167Vanuatu9.2-0.5%
168Guadeloupe9-0%
169Malta8.4+4.3%
170Réunion8.3+0.6%
171New Caledonia7.5+0.2%
172Barbados6.2-0.9%
173Solomon Islands6.1+1.4%
174French Guiana5.5+2.7%
175Cape Verde5.5+2.4%
176Maldives5.2+5.8%
177Samoa4.6-12.4%
178Falkland Islands3.90%
179Martinique3.8-1.5%
180Tonga3.2+0.7%
181French Polynesia3.1+1.5%
182São Tomé and Príncipe2.6+3.2%
183Seychelles2.3+2.7%
184Saint Lucia2.3+0.6%
185Greenland2.30%
186Antigua and Barbuda2.1+0.3%
187Dominica2+0.4%
188Grenada1.8+1.6%
189Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1.7+0.2%
190Faroe Islands1.6+0.4%
191Macao1.6+2%
192Micronesia1.5+0.6%
193Saint Kitts and Nevis1.3+2.3%
194Palau1.1+3.9%
195Bermuda1-1.6%
196Aruba1+0.8%
197Cayman Islands1+3.3%
198Kiribati0.9+4.7%
199U.S. Virgin Islands0.8+0.2%
200Montserrat0.7+0.3%
201Gibraltar0.5+1.3%
202Guam0.5+1.1%
203Mayotte0.5+0.1%
204British Virgin Islands0.4+2%
205Cook Islands0.3-2.4%
206Turks and Caicos Islands0.3-10.7%
207American Samoa0.3-0.8%
208Saint Pierre and Miquelon0.2+0.3%
209Wallis and Futuna0.2-0.6%
210Northern Mariana Islands0.2+0.1%
211Tuvalu0.2+0.7%
212Anguilla0.1+0.5%
213Marshall Islands0.1+0.3%
214Saint Helena0.1+0.9%
215Nauru0.1-1.3%
216Niue0+0.5%
217Tokelau0+16.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Methane (CH4) emitted in the year, in thousand tonnes of methane, from agriculture (livestock, manure, rice), fossil fuel production and distribution, waste and wastewater, fuel combustion and industry, as estimated by EDGAR. EDGAR estimates every country with the same IPCC methods and international activity statistics, so countries can be compared, but the values differ from the inventories countries report themselves. Emissions from land use, land use change and forestry and from large scale biomass burning (savannah and forest fires) are not included. The latest two years are fast track estimates from proxy statistics, replaced in later releases, and are marked provisional.

Tonnes of the gas itself, not CO2 equivalent: EDGAR weights a tonne of methane as 28 tonnes of CO2 (30 for fossil methane) over 100 years (IPCC AR5). EDGAR counts Andorra with Spain, Monaco with France, San Marino and the Holy See with Italy, and Liechtenstein with Switzerland. It reports Israel and Palestine, Sudan and South Sudan, and Serbia and Montenegro together, so those countries have no value here. Each release revises past years.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, European Commission, Joint Research Centre. EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Citation styles

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APA 7

European Commission, Joint Research Centre. (2026). EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane (Countries by methane emissions, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/

MLA 9

EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane, Countries by methane emissions, 2019. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 18 Sept. 2026, https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre. 2026. EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. Countries by methane emissions, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019.

Harvard

European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2026) EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane, Countries by methane emissions, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{european_countries_by_methane_emissions_2019,
  author = {{European Commission, Joint Research Centre}},
  title = {{EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane: Countries by methane emissions, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, European Commission, Joint Research Centre. EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR\_2026\_GHG/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - European Commission, Joint Research Centre
TI  - EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane: Countries by methane emissions, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/18
PB  - European Commission, Joint Research Centre
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/methane-emissions/countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, European Commission, Joint Research Centre. EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc-opendata/EDGAR/datasets/EDGAR_2026_GHG/. Retrieved 2026-10-12. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
ER  - 
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Which country has the highest methane emissions?

China, with 51,373.4 thousand tonnes of methane in 2019, according to the European Commission, Joint Research Centre.

Which country has the lowest methane emissions?

Tokelau, with 0 thousand tonnes of methane in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, EDGAR CH4 emissions by country, thousand tonnes (Gg) of methane. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Methane emissions: other rankings

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