What is emissions of air pollutants in Ghana?

Emissions of air pollutants in Ghana was 132,088 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 Ghana?

The highest recorded value was 132,088 tonnes in 2022.

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

The lowest recorded value was 256.23 tonnes in 1810.

How does Ghana rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Ghana ranks 85th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Ghana?

Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Ghana 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 Ghana

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Ghana
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)

Ghana: Emissions of air pollutants was 132,088 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

132,088 tonnes

Change on year

up 1.8%

World rank

85th

of 220 countries

All-time high

132,088 tonnes

in 2022

All-time low

256.23 tonnes

in 1810

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Ghana, 1750–2022

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

Analysis

Ghana recorded 132,088 tonnes for emissions of air pollutants in 2022. That is the highest value across all 273 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Ghana peaked at 132,088 tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 256.23 tonnes, in 1810.

That places Ghana 85th out of 220 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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	282.58 tonnes	280 tonnes	285.17 tonnes	10
1760s	276.88 tonnes	274.34 tonnes	279.42 tonnes	10
1770s	271.28 tonnes	268.79 tonnes	273.78 tonnes	10
1780s	265.78 tonnes	263.33 tonnes	268.23 tonnes	10
1790s	260.37 tonnes	257.96 tonnes	262.78 tonnes	10
1800s	256.9 tonnes	256.36 tonnes	257.42 tonnes	10
1810s	258.94 tonnes	256.23 tonnes	261.65 tonnes	10
1820s	264.99 tonnes	262.26 tonnes	267.73 tonnes	10
1830s	271.1 tonnes	268.34 tonnes	273.86 tonnes	10
1840s	277.26 tonnes	274.48 tonnes	280.05 tonnes	10
1850s	284.41 tonnes	280.35 tonnes	288.74 tonnes	10
1860s	297.52 tonnes	289.78 tonnes	305.79 tonnes	10
1870s	326.19 tonnes	307.72 tonnes	353.31 tonnes	10
1880s	412.65 tonnes	362.92 tonnes	452.02 tonnes	10
1890s	478.64 tonnes	457.25 tonnes	499.62 tonnes	10
1900s	599.98 tonnes	504.4 tonnes	686.63 tonnes	10
1910s	903.57 tonnes	701.48 tonnes	1,086 tonnes	10
1920s	1,399 tonnes	1,126 tonnes	1,705 tonnes	10
1930s	2,130 tonnes	1,797 tonnes	2,462 tonnes	10
1940s	2,772 tonnes	2,537 tonnes	2,988 tonnes	10
1950s	13,912 tonnes	8,949 tonnes	17,231 tonnes	10
1960s	17,347 tonnes	15,529 tonnes	19,318 tonnes	10
1970s	26,387 tonnes	22,789 tonnes	28,354 tonnes	10
1980s	26,578 tonnes	21,172 tonnes	31,020 tonnes	10
1990s	41,784 tonnes	30,042 tonnes	65,474 tonnes	10
2000s	71,766 tonnes	61,096 tonnes	91,372 tonnes	10
2010s	115,216 tonnes	97,567 tonnes	124,673 tonnes	10
2020s	126,857 tonnes	118,738 tonnes	132,088 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Ghana

82 Cuba 136,600 tonnes compare
83 Uganda 136,387 tonnes compare
84 Honduras 134,445 tonnes compare
86 Finland 125,339 tonnes compare
87 Bolivia 122,818 tonnes compare
88 Lebanon 120,722 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Ghana

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 48.09 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.4 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.2 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7908 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 7.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0127 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0108 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0685 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.3 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Ghana?: Emissions of air pollutants in Ghana was 132,088 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 Ghana?: The highest recorded value was 132,088 tonnes in 2022.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Ghana?: The lowest recorded value was 256.23 tonnes in 1810.
How does Ghana rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Ghana ranks 85th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Ghana?: Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ghana 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.