What is emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica?

Emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica was 79,121 tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Costa Rica?

The highest recorded value was 79,710 tonnes in 2007.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Costa Rica?

The lowest recorded value was 14.14 tonnes in 1750.

How does Costa Rica rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Costa Rica ranks 107th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Costa Rica?

Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Costa Rica data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Costa Rica: Emissions of air pollutants was 79,121 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

79,121 tonnes

Change on year

up 4.5%

World rank

107th

of 220 countries

All-time high

79,710 tonnes

in 2007

All-time low

14.14 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica is 79,121 tonnes, measured in 2022.

The figure is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica peaked at 79,710 tonnes in 2007 and was at its lowest, 14.14 tonnes, in 1750.

Costa Rica ranks 107th of 220 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	14.66 tonnes	14.14 tonnes	15.17 tonnes	10
1760s	15.83 tonnes	15.28 tonnes	16.38 tonnes	10
1770s	17.1 tonnes	16.5 tonnes	17.69 tonnes	10
1780s	18.46 tonnes	17.82 tonnes	19.1 tonnes	10
1790s	19.93 tonnes	19.24 tonnes	20.62 tonnes	10
1800s	22.06 tonnes	20.77 tonnes	23.35 tonnes	10
1810s	25.09 tonnes	23.64 tonnes	26.55 tonnes	10
1820s	29.31 tonnes	26.88 tonnes	31.76 tonnes	10
1830s	35.45 tonnes	32.31 tonnes	38.61 tonnes	10
1840s	42.64 tonnes	39.32 tonnes	45.98 tonnes	10
1850s	50.91 tonnes	46.34 tonnes	55.67 tonnes	10
1860s	65.85 tonnes	56.77 tonnes	75.74 tonnes	10
1870s	92.04 tonnes	78.1 tonnes	106.85 tonnes	10
1880s	129.56 tonnes	110.33 tonnes	150.61 tonnes	10
1890s	188.06 tonnes	155.97 tonnes	221.45 tonnes	10
1900s	316.8 tonnes	228.62 tonnes	413.17 tonnes	10
1910s	512.63 tonnes	436.94 tonnes	610.98 tonnes	10
1920s	741.68 tonnes	636.75 tonnes	841.51 tonnes	10
1930s	988.12 tonnes	858.72 tonnes	1,210 tonnes	10
1940s	1,547 tonnes	1,276 tonnes	1,931 tonnes	10
1950s	6,823 tonnes	5,862 tonnes	7,561 tonnes	10
1960s	10,367 tonnes	7,709 tonnes	14,217 tonnes	10
1970s	23,783 tonnes	14,887 tonnes	32,113 tonnes	10
1980s	35,115 tonnes	26,946 tonnes	49,224 tonnes	10
1990s	58,620 tonnes	41,703 tonnes	67,734 tonnes	10
2000s	71,202 tonnes	63,410 tonnes	79,710 tonnes	10
2010s	74,301 tonnes	70,154 tonnes	78,227 tonnes	10
2020s	74,767 tonnes	69,452 tonnes	79,121 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

104 Democratic Republic of Congo 82,418 tonnes compare
105 Cote d'Ivoire 80,310 tonnes compare
106 Jamaica 79,290 tonnes compare
108 Madagascar 77,423 tonnes compare
109 Zimbabwe 74,017 tonnes compare
110 Kyrgyzstan 70,959 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Costa Rica

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 17.08 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.33 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0273 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0131 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 6.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0288 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.92 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica?: Emissions of air pollutants in Costa Rica was 79,121 tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Costa Rica?: The highest recorded value was 79,710 tonnes in 2007.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Costa Rica?: The lowest recorded value was 14.14 tonnes in 1750.
How does Costa Rica rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Costa Rica ranks 107th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Costa Rica?: Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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: 07 August 2026

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.