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China vs South Africa: Environment

This page compares China and South Africa across 45 Environment indicators. Pick any indicator below for the full side-by-side trend, ranking, and difference.

See the full comparison overview or all indicators.

Indicator China South Africa Detail
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) 150.26 52.11 Compare →
Rural population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 0.53 0.09 Compare →
Urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 4.35 0.11 Compare →
Population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 4.88 0.20 Compare →
Bird species, threatened 94.00 54.00 Compare →
Fish species, threatened 207.00 153.00 Compare →
Mammal species, threatened 78.00 33.00 Compare →
Plant species (higher), threatened 713.00 428.00 Compare →
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) 15.60 9.60 Compare →
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) 14.70 12.90 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (t CO2e/capita) 9.32 6.88 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 15,536.12 569.81 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (t CO2e/capita) 11.03 8.90 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 1,485.34 93.23 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e) 195.67 25.44 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 43.72 23.99 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Industrial Processes (Mt CO2e) 1,396.17 19.98 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 13,124.73 440.17 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Industrial Processes (Mt CO2e) 38.52 2.92 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 423.62 19.05 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e) 31.69 0.85 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 62.71 16.55 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 318.45 39.97 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e) 249.49 12.82 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e) 498.98 25.85 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 443.63 40.08 Compare →
Carbon intensity of GDP (kg CO2e per constant 2015 US$ of GDP) 0.71 1.20 Compare →
PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter) 34.81 23.75 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 9.31 0.40 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 32.75 1.31 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 928.70 44.48 Compare →
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO guideline value (% of total) 100.00 100.00 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 4.14 0.06 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.54 0.19 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 6,577.95 232.55 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 64.79 0.93 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 23.15 0.67 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.73 0.25 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 586.64 22.67 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 2,793.02 48.35 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 3.90 0.17 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 736.76 40.00 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 821.58 70.85 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0.93 0.23 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) net fluxes from LULUCF - Total excluding non-tropical fires (Mt CO2e) -1,346.50 -56.71 Compare →
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Source: World Bank Open Data, CC BY 4.0. Values shown are the most recent reported year for each indicator and may differ between countries.