What is emissions of air pollutants in France?

Emissions of air pollutants in France was 820,688 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 France?

The highest recorded value was 2.77 million tonnes in 1978.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in France?

The lowest recorded value was 18,128 tonnes in 1750.

How does France rank for emissions of air pollutants?

France ranks 32nd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in France?

Over the last ten years it is down 40.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this France 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 France

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in France
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)

France: Emissions of air pollutants was 820,688 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

820,688 tonnes

Change on year

down 2.5%

World rank

32nd

of 220 countries

All-time high

2.77 million tonnes

in 1978

All-time low

18,128 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in France, 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 France is 820,688 tonnes, measured in 2022.

The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 40.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in France peaked at 2.77 million tonnes in 1978 and was at its lowest, 18,128 tonnes, in 1750.

France ranks 32nd of 220 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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	18,295 tonnes	18,128 tonnes	18,462 tonnes	10
1760s	18,664 tonnes	18,499 tonnes	18,828 tonnes	10
1770s	19,027 tonnes	18,864 tonnes	19,189 tonnes	10
1780s	19,385 tonnes	19,225 tonnes	19,545 tonnes	10
1790s	19,739 tonnes	19,581 tonnes	19,896 tonnes	10
1800s	20,871 tonnes	19,931 tonnes	21,922 tonnes	10
1810s	23,451 tonnes	22,760 tonnes	24,268 tonnes	10
1820s	25,930 tonnes	24,630 tonnes	27,596 tonnes	10
1830s	30,199 tonnes	27,786 tonnes	32,544 tonnes	10
1840s	36,191 tonnes	32,755 tonnes	39,676 tonnes	10
1850s	51,469 tonnes	39,873 tonnes	60,570 tonnes	10
1860s	77,983 tonnes	64,319 tonnes	89,300 tonnes	10
1870s	98,761 tonnes	82,743 tonnes	107,471 tonnes	10
1880s	127,275 tonnes	118,307 tonnes	138,233 tonnes	10
1890s	159,866 tonnes	147,950 tonnes	182,536 tonnes	10
1900s	190,304 tonnes	174,377 tonnes	207,233 tonnes	10
1910s	188,021 tonnes	150,503 tonnes	238,638 tonnes	10
1920s	293,416 tonnes	203,820 tonnes	436,227 tonnes	10
1930s	387,412 tonnes	286,431 tonnes	466,007 tonnes	10
1940s	269,868 tonnes	121,012 tonnes	522,432 tonnes	10
1950s	645,334 tonnes	502,798 tonnes	752,921 tonnes	10
1960s	1.38 million tonnes	1.00 million tonnes	1.87 million tonnes	10
1970s	2.52 million tonnes	2.07 million tonnes	2.77 million tonnes	10
1980s	2.37 million tonnes	2.26 million tonnes	2.64 million tonnes	10
1990s	2.28 million tonnes	2.15 million tonnes	2.47 million tonnes	10
2000s	1.84 million tonnes	1.51 million tonnes	2.11 million tonnes	10
2010s	1.24 million tonnes	1.02 million tonnes	1.46 million tonnes	10
2020s	822,482 tonnes	805,450 tonnes	841,309 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near France

29 Egypt 880,079 tonnes compare
30 Iraq 858,061 tonnes compare
31 United Kingdom 833,456 tonnes compare
33 Belgium 750,371 tonnes compare
34 Italy 748,652 tonnes compare
35 Philippines 711,503 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for France

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 378.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.52 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 42.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1015 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 66.98 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.1903 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1859 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 18.44 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in France?: Emissions of air pollutants in France was 820,688 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 France?: The highest recorded value was 2.77 million tonnes in 1978.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in France?: The lowest recorded value was 18,128 tonnes in 1750.
How does France rank for emissions of air pollutants?: France ranks 32nd out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in France?: Over the last ten years it is down 40.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this France 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.