Human caused air pollution exposure in Australia
Australia: Human caused air pollution exposure was 3.89 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Human caused air pollution exposure in Australia, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2024, human caused air pollution exposure in Australia stood at 3.89.
That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human caused air pollution exposure in Australia peaked at 7.3 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.25, in 2008.
Australia ranks 192nd of 240 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Human caused air pollution exposure in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3.63 | — |
| 1999 | 3.75 | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 3.75 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4.13 | +10.1% |
| 2002 | 4.44 | +7.5% |
| 2003 | 5.1 | +14.9% |
| 2004 | 3.7 | -27.5% |
| 2005 | 3.43 | -7.3% |
| 2006 | 4.61 | +34.4% |
| 2007 | 3.7 | -19.7% |
| 2008 | 3.25 | -12.2% |
| 2009 | 4.65 | +43.1% |
| 2010 | 3.43 | -26.2% |
| 2011 | 3.51 | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 3.63 | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 4.12 | +13.5% |
| 2014 | 4.4 | +6.8% |
| 2015 | 4.1 | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 3.93 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 4.19 | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 4.08 | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 7.3 | +78.9% |
| 2020 | 4.84 | -33.7% |
| 2021 | 3.65 | -24.6% |
| 2022 | 3.55 | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 3.99 | +12.4% |
| 2024 | 3.89 | -2.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 3.89 is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.08, 48% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Australia's 3.89 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5.49, 71% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Human caused air pollution exposure in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +78.9% | 4.08 | 7.3 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.69 | 3.63 | 3.75 | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.08 | 3.25 | 5.1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.27 | 3.43 | 7.3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.98 | 3.55 | 4.84 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 189 New Zealand 3.97 compare
- 189 Vanuatu 3.97 compare
- 191 Bahamas 3.91 compare
- 192 Guadeloupe 3.89 compare
- 194 Aland Islands 3.85 compare
- 195 Seychelles 3.83 compare
More environment data for Australia
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.2163 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 11.54 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 41.36 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate -5.11 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human caused air pollution exposure in Australia?
- Human caused air pollution exposure in Australia was 3.89 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3 in 2019.
- What is the lowest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.25 in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for human caused air pollution exposure?
- Australia ranks 192nd out of 240 countries with data for 2024.
- Is human caused air pollution exposure rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Human caused air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).