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China vs United States: Environment

This page compares China and United States 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 United States Detail
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) 150.26 36.82 Compare →
Rural population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 0.53 0.50 Compare →
Urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 4.35 1.48 Compare →
Population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) 4.88 1.98 Compare →
Bird species, threatened 94.00 87.00 Compare →
Fish species, threatened 207.00 283.00 Compare →
Mammal species, threatened 78.00 43.00 Compare →
Plant species (higher), threatened 713.00 688.00 Compare →
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) 15.60 12.90 Compare →
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) 14.70 15.80 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (t CO2e/capita) 9.32 13.62 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 15,536.12 5,912.62 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (t CO2e/capita) 11.03 17.38 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 1,485.34 843.36 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e) 195.67 149.52 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 43.72 -3.07 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Industrial Processes (Mt CO2e) 1,396.17 155.72 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 13,124.73 4,632.16 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Industrial Processes (Mt CO2e) 38.52 33.89 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) 423.62 215.60 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste (Mt CO2e) 31.69 9.94 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 62.71 -3.46 Compare →
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 318.45 -4.89 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e) 249.49 137.66 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e) 498.98 257.35 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) 443.63 -7.05 Compare →
Carbon intensity of GDP (kg CO2e per constant 2015 US$ of GDP) 0.71 0.21 Compare →
PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter) 34.81 7.81 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 9.31 5.54 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 32.75 9.47 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 928.70 1,678.56 Compare →
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO guideline value (% of total) 100.00 3.34 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 4.14 2.00 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.54 3.59 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 6,577.95 1,488.46 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 64.79 5.58 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 23.15 20.68 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.73 2.00 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 586.64 557.85 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 2,793.02 443.92 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 3.90 1.54 Compare →
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 736.76 418.87 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 821.58 300.82 Compare →
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0.93 0.31 Compare →
Carbon dioxide (CO2) net fluxes from LULUCF - Total excluding non-tropical fires (Mt CO2e) -1,346.50 -921.79 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.