What is emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia?

Emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia was 900,940 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 Malaysia?

The highest recorded value was 990,354 tonnes in 2019.

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

The lowest recorded value was 19.57 tonnes in 1750.

How does Malaysia rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Malaysia ranks 28th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Malaysia?

Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Malaysia 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 Malaysia

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia
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)

Malaysia: Emissions of air pollutants was 900,940 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

900,940 tonnes

Change on year

down 0.1%

World rank

28th

of 220 countries

All-time high

990,354 tonnes

in 2019

All-time low

19.57 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia, 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 Malaysia is 900,940 tonnes, measured in 2022.

The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia peaked at 990,354 tonnes in 2019 and was at its lowest, 19.57 tonnes, in 1750.

That places Malaysia 28th out of 220 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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	19.71 tonnes	19.57 tonnes	19.86 tonnes	10
1760s	20.04 tonnes	19.89 tonnes	20.19 tonnes	10
1770s	20.37 tonnes	20.22 tonnes	20.52 tonnes	10
1780s	20.7 tonnes	20.55 tonnes	20.85 tonnes	10
1790s	21.03 tonnes	20.88 tonnes	21.18 tonnes	10
1800s	21.48 tonnes	21.21 tonnes	21.76 tonnes	10
1810s	22.09 tonnes	21.82 tonnes	22.37 tonnes	10
1820s	24.37 tonnes	22.43 tonnes	26.32 tonnes	10
1830s	29.89 tonnes	26.76 tonnes	33.04 tonnes	10
1840s	37.68 tonnes	33.74 tonnes	41.64 tonnes	10
1850s	47.34 tonnes	42.53 tonnes	52.3 tonnes	10
1860s	59.37 tonnes	53.46 tonnes	65.51 tonnes	10
1870s	87.25 tonnes	67.03 tonnes	109.61 tonnes	10
1880s	125.49 tonnes	114.98 tonnes	139.94 tonnes	10
1890s	184.87 tonnes	144.41 tonnes	228.4 tonnes	10
1900s	298.27 tonnes	238.59 tonnes	369.41 tonnes	10
1910s	1,284 tonnes	387.9 tonnes	2,109 tonnes	10
1920s	9,826 tonnes	3,150 tonnes	13,580 tonnes	10
1930s	6,472 tonnes	4,192 tonnes	12,539 tonnes	10
1940s	2,604 tonnes	1,785 tonnes	4,008 tonnes	10
1950s	9,672 tonnes	3,985 tonnes	22,124 tonnes	10
1960s	41,562 tonnes	23,691 tonnes	57,544 tonnes	10
1970s	109,898 tonnes	80,886 tonnes	145,513 tonnes	10
1980s	200,999 tonnes	156,908 tonnes	269,511 tonnes	10
1990s	450,811 tonnes	323,565 tonnes	533,278 tonnes	10
2000s	609,029 tonnes	509,033 tonnes	722,227 tonnes	10
2010s	904,406 tonnes	774,703 tonnes	990,354 tonnes	10
2020s	907,153 tonnes	900,940 tonnes	918,518 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Malaysia

25 Germany 986,642 tonnes compare
26 Turkey 934,732 tonnes compare
27 Kazakhstan 928,518 tonnes compare
29 Egypt 880,079 tonnes compare
30 Iraq 858,061 tonnes compare
31 United Kingdom 833,456 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Malaysia

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 332.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 9.34 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.89 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0205 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 9.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0252 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 26.26 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0898 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.3735 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 12.28 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia?: Emissions of air pollutants in Malaysia was 900,940 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 Malaysia?: The highest recorded value was 990,354 tonnes in 2019.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Malaysia?: The lowest recorded value was 19.57 tonnes in 1750.
How does Malaysia rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Malaysia ranks 28th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Malaysia?: Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malaysia 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.