What is emissions of air pollutants in Kenya?

Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya was 208,069 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 Kenya?

The highest recorded value was 208,069 tonnes in 2022.

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

The lowest recorded value was 772.26 tonnes in 1750.

How does Kenya rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Kenya ranks 66th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Kenya?

Over the last ten years it is up 37.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Kenya 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 Kenya

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya
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)

Kenya: Emissions of air pollutants was 208,069 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

208,069 tonnes

Change on year

up 4.3%

World rank

66th

of 220 countries

All-time high

208,069 tonnes

in 2022

All-time low

772.26 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya, 1750–2022

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

Analysis

Kenya recorded 208,069 tonnes for emissions of air pollutants in 2022. That is the highest value across all 273 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and up 37.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Kenya peaked at 208,069 tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 772.26 tonnes, in 1750.

That places Kenya 66th 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	773.4 tonnes	772.26 tonnes	774.53 tonnes	10
1760s	775.91 tonnes	774.78 tonnes	777.04 tonnes	10
1770s	778.43 tonnes	777.29 tonnes	779.56 tonnes	10
1780s	780.94 tonnes	779.81 tonnes	782.08 tonnes	10
1790s	783.46 tonnes	782.33 tonnes	784.59 tonnes	10
1800s	796.52 tonnes	784.84 tonnes	808.2 tonnes	10
1810s	824.42 tonnes	810.8 tonnes	838.08 tonnes	10
1820s	854.95 tonnes	841.13 tonnes	868.81 tonnes	10
1830s	885.93 tonnes	871.91 tonnes	899.98 tonnes	10
1840s	917.34 tonnes	903.13 tonnes	931.61 tonnes	10
1850s	952.95 tonnes	935.25 tonnes	970.94 tonnes	10
1860s	1,015 tonnes	975.04 tonnes	1,056 tonnes	10
1870s	1,112 tonnes	1,065 tonnes	1,160 tonnes	10
1880s	1,231 tonnes	1,172 tonnes	1,292 tonnes	10
1890s	1,364 tonnes	1,296 tonnes	1,435 tonnes	10
1900s	1,674 tonnes	1,452 tonnes	1,884 tonnes	10
1910s	2,470 tonnes	1,941 tonnes	2,834 tonnes	10
1920s	3,399 tonnes	2,877 tonnes	3,964 tonnes	10
1930s	4,503 tonnes	4,046 tonnes	4,996 tonnes	10
1940s	5,821 tonnes	5,064 tonnes	6,961 tonnes	10
1950s	24,792 tonnes	15,972 tonnes	29,062 tonnes	10
1960s	32,773 tonnes	29,808 tonnes	37,508 tonnes	10
1970s	75,769 tonnes	36,228 tonnes	89,709 tonnes	10
1980s	79,231 tonnes	68,087 tonnes	86,332 tonnes	10
1990s	89,165 tonnes	83,454 tonnes	100,042 tonnes	10
2000s	115,753 tonnes	92,523 tonnes	152,878 tonnes	10
2010s	172,695 tonnes	151,095 tonnes	194,144 tonnes	10
2020s	197,299 tonnes	184,347 tonnes	208,069 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Kenya

63 Dominican Republic 218,352 tonnes compare
64 Venezuela 215,493 tonnes compare
65 Guatemala 214,868 tonnes compare
67 Norway 200,483 tonnes compare
68 Romania 198,247 tonnes compare
69 Cambodia 193,897 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Kenya

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 102.84 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.82 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 50.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 3.41 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 7.97 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0511 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 64.93 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0034 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0653 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.4 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Kenya?: Emissions of air pollutants in Kenya was 208,069 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 Kenya?: The highest recorded value was 208,069 tonnes in 2022.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Kenya?: The lowest recorded value was 772.26 tonnes in 1750.
How does Kenya rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Kenya ranks 66th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Kenya?: Over the last ten years it is up 37.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Kenya 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.