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Data for 1978

Methane Emissions, 1978

1978, as EDGAR’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

This is how much methane a country releases in a year — from cattle and other livestock, rice paddies, leaks from oil and gas systems, coal mines, landfills and waste water. Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide: it lasts less long in the air but traps far more heat per tonne.

Methane Emissions, 1978 covers 207 countries. United States is highest, at 30,282.48886; Nauru is lowest, at 0.03189. The middle country reads 160.31942. Against 1977, 207 values changed (157 up, 50 down), the same countries are covered.

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Methane Emissions · Data for 1978

HighestUnited States

30,282.48886

LowestNauru

0.03189

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Methane Emissions, 1978, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Showing 25 of 207 countries · select a heading to sort

Methane Emissions, 1978: every country, as published by European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EDGAR).
United StatesUSANorthern America30,282.48886
ChinaCHNEastern Asia27,375.49453
IndiaINDSouthern Asia16,736.68093
RussiaRUSEastern Europe13,200.95204
BrazilBRASouth America8,561.98050
PolandPOLEastern Europe5,912.75878
NigeriaNGAWestern Africa5,702.32902
GermanyDEUWestern Europe5,581.62798
IranIRNSouthern Asia4,957.41403
United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe4,537.92382
AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand4,361.26385
ArgentinaARGSouth America4,361.09566
UkraineUKREastern Europe4,337.74688
IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia4,274.56613
IraqIRQWestern Asia3,798.31873
FranceFRAWestern Europe3,283.12889
CanadaCANNorthern America3,035.57399
JapanJPNEastern Asia2,780.13995
KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia2,543.95475
LibyaLBYNorthern Africa2,414.46784
MexicoMEXCentral America2,394.42672
PakistanPAKSouthern Asia2,332.87728
ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia2,145.10364
Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia1,960.06091
South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa1,905.59710

02In 1978

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. United States30,282.48886
  2. China27,375.49453
  3. India16,736.68093
  4. Russia13,200.95204
  5. Brazil8,561.98050

Lowest

  1. Nauru0.03189
  2. Marshall Islands0.03795
  3. Anguilla0.04521
  4. Tuvalu0.04677
  5. Turks and Caicos Islands0.05917

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 160.31942. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031977 → 1978

Since 1977

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 207values changed, of 207 in both
  • 157 · 50rose · fell
  • 0unchanged

Rose most

  • China26,633.52262 → 27,375.49453+741.97191
  • Russia12,838.47710 → 13,200.95204+362.47494
  • Iraq3,476.65734 → 3,798.31873+321.66139
  • Poland5,660.84619 → 5,912.75878+251.91259
  • India16,485.15105 → 16,736.68093+251.52988

Fell most

  • Nigeria6,167.82950 → 5,702.32902−465.50047
  • Iran5,268.05762 → 4,957.41403−310.64359
  • Argentina4,553.54655 → 4,361.09566−192.45089
  • Australia4,536.45711 → 4,361.26385−175.19326
  • Japan2,920.89594 → 2,780.13995−140.75599

04Caveats

Read before you use

How values are stored

  • One year of the 2026 release

    Every year in this series comes from EDGAR’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 1978.

  • Nothing missing

    Every one of the 207 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

Licence in full

What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EDGAR) (1978). Methane Emissions, 1978 [data set], describing 1978. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/methane-emissions/1978

0656 held

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