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Data for 2020

Methane Emissions, 2020

2020, 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, 2020 covers 207 countries. China is highest, at 50,674.976; Niue is lowest, at 0.047. The middle country reads 307.403. Against 2019, 207 values changed (116 up, 91 down), the same countries are covered.

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Methane Emissions · Data for 2020

HighestChina

50,674.976

LowestNiue

0.047

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, 2020, 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, 2020: every country, as published by European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EDGAR).
ChinaCHNEastern Asia50,674.976
United StatesUSANorthern America28,478.755
IndiaINDSouthern Asia27,749.805
BrazilBRASouth America20,773.600
RussiaRUSEastern Europe14,380.007
IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia12,127.604
PakistanPAKSouthern Asia8,043.264
NigeriaNGAWestern Africa6,068.228
IraqIRQWestern Asia4,884.099
MexicoMEXCentral America4,834.883
ArgentinaARGSouth America4,762.027
AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand4,546.305
IranIRNSouthern Asia4,413.472
VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia4,145.056
EthiopiaETHEastern Africa4,133.097
CanadaCANNorthern America4,118.944
Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia3,710.838
South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa3,010.415
ColombiaCOLSouth America2,985.994
MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia2,690.355
TürkiyeTURWestern Asia2,679.709
BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia2,658.256
PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia2,562.213
KenyaKENEastern Africa2,525.413
ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia2,499.652

02In 2020

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. China50,674.976
  2. United States28,478.755
  3. India27,749.805
  4. Brazil20,773.600
  5. Russia14,380.007

Lowest

  1. Niue0.047
  2. Nauru0.065
  3. Marshall Islands0.112
  4. Anguilla0.136
  5. Tuvalu0.153

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 307.403. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032019 → 2020

Since 2019

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 207values changed, of 207 in both
  • 116 · 91rose · fell
  • 0unchanged

Rose most

  • India27,392.373 → 27,749.805+357.432
  • Kenya2,192.060 → 2,525.413+333.353
  • Pakistan7,756.063 → 8,043.264+287.201
  • Brazil20,512.384 → 20,773.600+261.216
  • Ethiopia3,910.484 → 4,133.097+222.613

Fell most

  • United States30,069.451 → 28,478.755−1,590.696
  • Iraq5,618.374 → 4,884.099−734.276
  • China51,373.421 → 50,674.976−698.446
  • Nigeria6,761.562 → 6,068.228−693.334
  • Indonesia12,691.591 → 12,127.604−563.987

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 2020.

  • 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) (2020). Methane Emissions, 2020 [data set], describing 2020. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/methane-emissions/2020

0656 held

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