Italy vs United Kingdom: Emissions of air pollutants

Italy
748,652 tonnes
in 2022
United Kingdom
833,456 tonnes
in 2022
Italy rank
34th
United Kingdom rank
31st

Emissions of air pollutants over time

  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
01.0M2.0M3.0M175018862022

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 833,456 tonnes against 748,652 tonnes in Italy, a difference of 84,804 tonnes.

That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.

Across all 273 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.

Italy ranks 34th and United Kingdom ranks 31st of 220 countries.

United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 28 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Italy United Kingdom Difference Ahead
1750s 5,169 tonnes 13,973 tonnes 8,804 tonnes United Kingdom
1760s 5,314 tonnes 16,134 tonnes 10,820 tonnes United Kingdom
1770s 5,464 tonnes 19,288 tonnes 13,824 tonnes United Kingdom
1780s 5,618 tonnes 23,475 tonnes 17,858 tonnes United Kingdom
1790s 5,775 tonnes 29,109 tonnes 23,334 tonnes United Kingdom
1800s 5,943 tonnes 38,759 tonnes 32,816 tonnes United Kingdom
1810s 6,123 tonnes 48,707 tonnes 42,583 tonnes United Kingdom
1820s 6,398 tonnes 60,869 tonnes 54,471 tonnes United Kingdom
1830s 6,794 tonnes 86,872 tonnes 80,078 tonnes United Kingdom
1840s 7,215 tonnes 117,932 tonnes 110,717 tonnes United Kingdom
1850s 7,631 tonnes 159,049 tonnes 151,418 tonnes United Kingdom
1860s 10,727 tonnes 280,207 tonnes 269,480 tonnes United Kingdom
1870s 16,776 tonnes 430,153 tonnes 413,378 tonnes United Kingdom
1880s 26,155 tonnes 564,677 tonnes 538,522 tonnes United Kingdom
1890s 33,517 tonnes 673,612 tonnes 640,096 tonnes United Kingdom
1900s 48,566 tonnes 823,740 tonnes 775,175 tonnes United Kingdom
1910s 65,712 tonnes 907,414 tonnes 841,702 tonnes United Kingdom
1920s 85,900 tonnes 692,720 tonnes 606,820 tonnes United Kingdom
1930s 112,981 tonnes 716,698 tonnes 603,717 tonnes United Kingdom
1940s 87,804 tonnes 863,735 tonnes 775,931 tonnes United Kingdom
1950s 260,030 tonnes 1.44 million tonnes 1.18 million tonnes United Kingdom
1960s 1.36 million tonnes 2.70 million tonnes 1.34 million tonnes United Kingdom
1970s 2.06 million tonnes 3.18 million tonnes 1.12 million tonnes United Kingdom
1980s 2.13 million tonnes 2.95 million tonnes 820,776 tonnes United Kingdom
1990s 2.14 million tonnes 2.81 million tonnes 673,384 tonnes United Kingdom
2000s 1.51 million tonnes 1.97 million tonnes 458,286 tonnes United Kingdom
2010s 949,472 tonnes 1.28 million tonnes 327,130 tonnes United Kingdom
2020s 731,603 tonnes 822,824 tonnes 91,221 tonnes United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher emissions of air pollutants, Italy or United Kingdom?
United Kingdom, at 833,456 tonnes against 748,652 tonnes in Italy as of 2022.
What is the difference in emissions of air pollutants between Italy and United Kingdom?
84,804 tonnes, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and United Kingdom?
273 years are reported by both, from 1750 to 2022.
How do Italy and United Kingdom rank globally for emissions of air pollutants?
Italy ranks 34th and United Kingdom ranks 31st of 220 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Emissions of air pollutants
Unit
tonnes
Source
Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.