Data for 2012

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2012

Figures for 2012, as Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group published them · stored as published, never rewritten

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2012 covers 220 countries on 4 measures. Qatar is highest, at 94.7; Greenland is lowest, at 2.2. The middle country reads 17.4. Against 2011, 214 values changed (143 up, 71 down), the same countries are covered.

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PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure · Data for 2012

HighestQatar

94.7

LowestGreenland

2.2

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end. A higher value is the worse result.

220countries
4measures per country
2012the year it describes
174distinct values1 decimal, as published
Sep 29, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2012, as published. Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 220 countries · select a heading to sort

PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2012: every country, as published by Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis.
derived
1	QatarQATWestern Asia	94.7	112.4	100.0	100.0
2	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	78.6	71.3	100.0	98.9
3	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	69.6	58.3	100.0	97.1
4	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	63.5	61.3	100.0	100.0
5	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	56.6	59.5	100.0	100.0
=6	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	56.2	65.0	100.0	90.9
=6	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	56.2	63.2	100.0	100.0
8	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	54.7	40.1	100.0	93.8
9	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	51.1	42.0	100.0	70.7
10	NigerNERWestern Africa	50.6	49.3	100.0	99.1
11	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	50.2	49.5	100.0	99.4
12	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	49.0	41.9	100.0	79.8
13	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	48.1	29.7	100.0	76.6
14	OmanOMNWestern Asia	47.4	51.3	100.0	98.8
15	SenegalSENWestern Africa	46.9	42.2	100.0	95.5
16	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	46.8	39.9	100.0	98.1
17	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	43.4	33.0	100.0	58.8
18	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	43.3	34.9	100.0	81.8
19	IraqIRQWestern Asia	42.4	40.8	100.0	66.4
20	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	41.6	40.9	100.0	68.2
21	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	40.7	42.2	100.0	57.8
22	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	40.5	46.9	100.0	45.7
23	MaliMLIWestern Africa	40.0	39.9	100.0	68.5
24	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	38.4	35.9	100.0	61.2
25	YemenYEMWestern Asia	38.3	41.2	100.0	80.5
26	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	36.1	30.5	100.0	34.8
27	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	35.4	32.7	100.0	43.6
28	TogoTGOWestern Africa	35.2	35.5	100.0	48.6
29	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	34.8	30.2	100.0	50.2
30	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	34.7	33.9	100.0	54.1
31	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	34.5	32.3	100.0	37.8
32	BeninBENWestern Africa	34.2	33.7	100.0	44.5
33	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	34.1	33.6	100.0	34.1
34	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	33.2	32.0	100.0	26.2
35	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	33.1	32.1	100.0	20.0
36	IranIRNSouthern Asia	33.0	35.1	100.0	36.0
37	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	32.5	27.9	100.0	33.3
38	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	31.9	30.9	100.0	46.3
39	EritreaERIEastern Africa	31.3	34.2	100.0	18.1
40	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	30.7	33.2	100.0	26.5
41	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	30.4	26.8	100.0	8.1
42	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	30.0	30.7	100.0	15.4
43	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	29.6	30.8	100.0	17.7
44	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	29.1	25.6	100.0	23.8
45	JordanJORWestern Asia	28.7	29.6	100.0	20.4
46	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	28.5	27.3	100.0	4.7
=47	GuineaGINWestern Africa	28.4	27.1	100.0	12.6
=47	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	28.4	23.2	100.0	17.0
=49	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	28.2	25.7	100.0	6.1
=49	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	28.2	27.1	100.0	11.2
51	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	27.8	25.2	100.0	29.9
52	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	27.6	26.1	99.8	26.8
53	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	27.5	27.9	100.0	0.4
=54	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	26.8	23.7	100.0	1.9
=54	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	26.8	26.9	100.0	3.9
56	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	26.3	15.9	100.0	13.5
57	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	25.6	22.2	100.0	5.2
=58	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	24.9	19.4	100.0	4.1
=58	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	24.9	24.2	100.0	0.0
60	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	24.8	25.5	100.0	1.8
=61	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	24.4	20.5	100.0	14.9
=61	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	24.4	15.9	100.0	13.6
=63	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	23.8	21.6	100.0	0.5
=63	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	23.8	21.4	100.0	5.3
65	KosovoXKXSouthern Europe	23.3	22.4	100.0	0.0
66	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	22.9	18.4	100.0	5.2
67	HondurasHNDCentral America	22.7	17.4	100.0	2.8
68	PolandPOLEastern Europe	22.6	20.2	100.0	0.5
=69	BoliviaBOLSouth America	22.1	18.8	100.0	0.2
=69	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	22.1	22.2	100.0	1.1
71	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	22.0	20.3	100.0	0.0
72	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	21.7	21.4	100.0	0.0
=73	GabonGABMiddle Africa	21.5	19.9	100.0	0.0
=73	KenyaKENEastern Africa	21.5	16.9	100.0	0.0
75	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	21.3	18.2	100.0	7.4
=76	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	21.2	19.3	100.0	0.5
=76	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	21.2	23.5	100.0	0.0
78	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	21.0	20.2	99.5	0.4
79	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	20.7	20.9	100.0	0.9
80	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	20.5	19.2	100.0	0.0
81	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	20.4	27.6	100.0	5.0
=82	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	20.3	20.2	100.0	0.0
=82	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	20.3	19.5	100.0	0.0
84	IsraelISRWestern Asia	20.2	24.5	100.0	0.2
85	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	20.0	19.4	100.0	0.5
=86	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	19.9	15.9	100.0	2.7
=86	Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe	19.9	19.9	100.0	0.0
88	ChileCHLSouth America	19.6	16.5	99.8	0.1
89	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	19.5	18.9	100.0	0.0
90	VenezuelaVENSouth America	19.4	15.8	100.0	0.0
91	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	19.2	14.3	100.0	0.0
=92	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	19.1	20.6	100.0	0.0
=92	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	19.1	15.7	100.0	1.1
=92	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	19.1	18.7	100.0	0.0
=92	PeruPERSouth America	19.1	17.0	100.0	1.9
=92	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	19.1	18.1	100.0	0.0
97	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	18.7	15.4	100.0	2.1
98	ColombiaCOLSouth America	18.6	16.6	100.0	0.0
=99	EcuadorECUSouth America	18.5	17.5	100.0	0.0
=99	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	18.5	18.9	100.0	0.0
=101	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	18.3	16.9	100.0	0.0
=101	NicaraguaNICCentral America	18.3	14.5	100.0	0.0
103	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	18.2	14.5	100.0	3.1
104	Costa RicaCRICentral America	18.0	17.5	100.0	0.0
=105	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	17.7	15.8	100.0	0.0
=105	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	17.7	15.2	100.0	0.0
=105	Northern CyprusXNCWestern Asia	17.7	17.2	100.0	0.0
=105	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	17.7	13.8	100.0	0.5
109	ItalyITASouthern Europe	17.6	13.6	100.0	0.0
=110	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	17.4	17.2	100.0	0.0
=110	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	17.4	14.7	100.0	0.0
112	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	17.2	15.2	100.0	0.0
113	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	17.0	14.8	100.0	0.1
114	MexicoMEXCentral America	16.7	10.2	99.9	0.0
115	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	16.4	14.2	100.0	0.0
=116	PanamaPANCentral America	16.3	15.9	100.0	0.0
=116	UkraineUKREastern Europe	16.3	15.1	100.0	0.0
118	SurinameSURSouth America	16.2	15.2	100.0	0.0
119	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	16.0	13.6	100.0	0.0
120	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	15.8	14.0	100.0	0.2
121	JapanJPNEastern Asia	15.7	15.0	100.0	0.0
=122	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	15.6	15.4	100.0	0.2
=122	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	15.6	18.5	99.8	2.6
124	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	15.5	16.1	100.0	0.0
125	San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe	15.4	15.0	100.0	0.0
126	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	15.3	12.1	100.0	0.0
127	ParaguayPRYSouth America	15.2	15.0	100.0	0.0
128	BelarusBLREastern Europe	14.8	13.3	100.0	0.0
129	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	14.5	14.7	100.0	0.0
130	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	14.4	13.0	100.0	0.0
=131	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	14.2	10.7	99.0	0.1
=131	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	14.2	19.4	100.0	0.4
=133	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	14.1	14.1	100.0	0.0
=133	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	14.1	13.1	100.0	0.0
=135	ArgentinaARGSouth America	14.0	13.5	100.0	0.6
=135	HaitiHTICaribbean	14.0	12.9	100.0	0.0
=137	GuyanaGUYSouth America	13.9	14.5	100.0	0.0
=137	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	13.9	13.4	100.0	0.0
139	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	13.8	13.3	100.0	0.0
140	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	13.7	11.2	100.0	0.0
=141	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	13.4	11.9	100.0	0.0
=141	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	13.4	13.3	100.0	0.0
=143	FranceFRAWestern Europe	13.3	11.1	100.0	0.0
=143	UruguayURYSouth America	13.3	10.2	100.0	0.0
145	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	13.2	23.5	100.0	0.7
146	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	13.1	14.6	100.0	0.0
147	BrazilBRASouth America	13.0	15.2	99.6	0.0
148	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	12.7	10.0	95.4	4.4
=149	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	12.6	11.6	100.0	0.0
=149	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	12.6	12.5	100.0	0.0
151	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	12.5	11.4	100.0	0.0
152	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	12.2	9.7	100.0	0.0
=153	MonacoMCOWestern Europe	11.9	11.9	100.0	0.0
=153	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	11.9	11.2	100.0	0.0
155	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	11.8	12.0	100.0	0.0
156	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	11.7	9.8	100.0	0.0
=157	LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe	11.6	11.2	100.0	0.0
=157	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	11.6	10.9	100.0	0.0
159	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	11.4	10.8	100.0	0.0
160	GrenadaGRDCaribbean	11.3	11.1	100.0	0.0
161	SpainESPSouthern Europe	11.1	8.8	99.9	0.0
162	BelizeBLZCentral America	11.0	11.5	100.0	0.0
163	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	10.9	8.5	99.8	0.0
164	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	10.8	10.0	98.2	0.0
165	ArubaABWCaribbean	10.7	9.8	100.0	0.0
=166	CubaCUBCaribbean	10.4	8.9	100.0	0.0
=166	CuraçaoCUWCaribbean	10.4	10.3	100.0	0.0
168	GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe	10.2	10.4	100.0	0.0
169	DominicaDMACaribbean	10.1	9.5	99.9	0.0
170	Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean	10.0	9.1	99.7	0.0
171	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	9.9	8.2	92.8	0.3
=172	Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean	9.7	9.4	100.0	0.0
=172	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	9.7	9.0	100.0	0.0
174	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	9.6	8.0	97.2	0.0
175	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	9.5	8.1	100.0	0.0
176	Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean	9.3	9.2	99.9	0.0
177	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	9.2	9.2	99.6	0.0
178	United StatesUSANorthern America	8.9	6.0	99.0	0.0
179	Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean	8.8	8.5	100.0	0.0
180	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	8.2	7.6	99.9	0.0
181	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	8.1	7.8	99.8	0.0
182	Saint MartinMAFCaribbean	7.8	7.7	100.0	0.0
=183	BahamasBHSCaribbean	7.6	7.2	99.9	0.0
=183	British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean	7.6	7.7	100.0	0.0
185	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	7.5	7.6	100.0	0.0
186	AnguillaAIACaribbean	7.2	7.4	100.0	0.0
=187	CanadaCANNorthern America	7.1	3.9	91.8	0.0
=187	MontserratMSRCaribbean	7.1	9.0	91.3	0.0
189	AndorraANDSouthern Europe	7.0	6.0	84.8	0.0
=190	Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe	6.8	5.9	94.5	0.0
=190	Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean	6.8	6.9	100.0	0.0
192	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	6.7	3.8	86.0	0.0
193	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	6.3	5.1	94.4	0.0
194	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	6.2	4.2	76.4	0.0
=195	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	5.9	5.9	99.2	0.0
=195	FijiFJIMelanesia	5.9	5.8	94.7	0.0
=195	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	5.9	3.2	64.5	0.0
=198	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	5.7	6.9	82.0	0.0
=198	BermudaBMUNorthern America	5.7	5.8	80.9	0.0
200	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	5.2	5.1	78.0	0.0
=201	PalauPLWMicronesia	5.0	5.1	49.2	0.0
=201	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	5.0	5.0	45.8	0.0
=203	TongaTONPolynesia	4.6	4.1	31.4	0.0
=203	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	4.6	4.7	22.1	0.0
205	SamoaWSMPolynesia	4.3	4.1	4.9	0.0
=206	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	3.9	2.9	9.8	0.0
=206	KiribatiKIRMicronesia	3.9	3.4	1.7	0.0
=208	NauruNRUMicronesia	3.8	3.8	0.0	0.0
=208	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	3.8	3.8	0.5	0.0
210	GuamGUMMicronesia	3.7	3.7	0.0	0.0
211	American SamoaASMPolynesia	3.6	3.3	0.0	0.0
=212	Faroe IslandsFRONorthern Europe	3.5	3.4	0.1	0.0
=212	NiueNIUPolynesia	3.5	3.5	0.0	0.0
214	Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia	3.4	3.5	0.0	0.0
215	TuvaluTUVPolynesia	3.3	3.2	0.0	0.0
216	MicronesiaFSMMicronesia	3.2	3.3	0.0	0.0
217	Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia	2.9	1.7	0.1	0.0
218	Cook IslandsCOKPolynesia	2.6	2.5	0.0	0.0
219	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	2.4	-1.7	0.0	0.0
220	GreenlandGRLNorthern America	2.2	1.1	0.0	0.0

02In 2012

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1Qatar94.7
2Bangladesh78.6
3Saudi Arabia69.6
4Kuwait63.5
5Bahrain56.6

Lowest

A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 17.4. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

PM2.5, geographic mean (µg/m³)
HighestQatar112.4
LowestFrench Polynesia-1.7
Middle country: 15.3
People at or above 5 µg/m³, the WHO guideline (%)
Highest166 share it
Lowest10 share it
Middle country: 100.0
People at or above 35 µg/m³, the WHO's first interim target (%)
Highest4 share it
Lowest128 share it
Middle country: 0.0

032011 → 2012

Since 2011

What changed between 2011 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
214values changed, of 220 in both
143 · 71rose · fell
6unchanged

Rose most

Gambia32.1 → 46.8+14.7
Senegal33.7 → 46.9+13.2
Oman36.5 → 47.4+10.9
Mauritania40.3 → 50.2+9.9
United Arab Emirates46.4 → 56.2+9.8

Fell most

Tajikistan30.2 → 24.4−5.8
Afghanistan35.9 → 30.7−5.2
Lesotho60.7 → 56.2−4.5
Denmark13.0 → 9.7−3.3
Albania20.7 → 17.7−3.0

Changes in value, not in places: a country’s place also moves when others do. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

174 distinct values among 220
Values are stored exactly as published, to 1 decimal. 5 countries share 19.1. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the worse result.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 220 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
220 rows · 8.1 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download pm25-exposure-2012-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group’s own file, on its own site.
e673hbmsl75gechxnrjotenel6k4hdfc

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0. Share, adapt and use commercially. Credit the publisher and say if you changed anything.

Cite this edition

Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis (2012). PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2012 [data set], describing 2012. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/pm25-exposure/2012

0626 held

Other years

‹ The year before
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2011
220 countries
The year after ›
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, 2013
220 countries
All of them
PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure: every year
26 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions