China vs Ireland: Share of plastic waste exports
China
2.0%
in 2024
Ireland
2.2%
in 2024
China rank
14th
Ireland rank
11th
Share of plastic waste exports over time
- China
- Ireland
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 2.2% against 2.0% in China, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.1 times China's.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 21 shared years of data; in 1994 it was China ahead.
China ranks 14th and Ireland ranks 11th of 162 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.4% | China |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | China |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | China |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of plastic waste exports, China or Ireland?
- Ireland, at 2.2% against 2.0% in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of plastic waste exports between China and Ireland?
- 0.2%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Ireland?
- 21 years are reported by both, from 1994 to 2024.
- How do China and Ireland rank globally for share of plastic waste exports?
- China ranks 14th and Ireland ranks 11th of 162 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.