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Data for 1988

Methane Emissions, 1988

1988, 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, 1988 covers 207 countries. China is highest, at 32,834.044; Nauru is lowest, at 0.040. The middle country reads 193.494. Against 1987, 207 values changed (140 up, 67 down), the same countries are covered.

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Methane Emissions · Data for 1988

HighestChina

32,834.044

LowestNauru

0.040

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, 1988, 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, 1988: every country, as published by European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EDGAR).
ChinaCHNEastern Asia32,834.044
United StatesUSANorthern America31,118.796
IndiaINDSouthern Asia21,338.872
RussiaRUSEastern Europe15,744.584
BrazilBRASouth America11,607.300
GermanyDEUWestern Europe5,155.249
IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia5,007.500
UkraineUKREastern Europe4,942.967
PolandPOLEastern Europe4,938.999
NigeriaNGAWestern Africa4,898.540
AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand4,538.517
United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe4,532.025
ArgentinaARGSouth America4,225.819
IraqIRQWestern Asia4,200.215
CanadaCANNorthern America3,364.447
PakistanPAKSouthern Asia3,237.159
MexicoMEXCentral America3,045.164
FranceFRAWestern Europe3,003.790
JapanJPNEastern Asia2,641.123
IranIRNSouthern Asia2,636.411
South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa2,552.516
KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia2,474.390
ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia2,430.941
VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia2,172.617
ColombiaCOLSouth America1,992.742

02In 1988

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. China32,834.044
  2. United States31,118.796
  3. India21,338.872
  4. Russia15,744.584
  5. Brazil11,607.300

Lowest

  1. Nauru0.040
  2. Niue0.043
  3. Anguilla0.055
  4. Marshall Islands0.056
  5. Tuvalu0.067

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 193.494. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031987 → 1988

Since 1987

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 207values changed, of 207 in both
  • 140 · 67rose · fell
  • 0unchanged

Rose most

  • India20,284.369 → 21,338.872+1,054.503
  • Iraq3,313.618 → 4,200.215+886.597
  • China32,139.363 → 32,834.044+694.681
  • United States30,784.244 → 31,118.796+334.552
  • Brazil11,291.821 → 11,607.300+315.479

Fell most

  • Poland5,044.439 → 4,938.999−105.440
  • France3,105.674 → 3,003.790−101.884
  • Germany5,254.479 → 5,155.249−99.230
  • Australia4,582.152 → 4,538.517−43.635
  • Belgium608.901 → 570.566−38.335

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 1988.

  • 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) (1988). Methane Emissions, 1988 [data set], describing 1988. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/methane-emissions/1988

0656 held

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