What is emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka?

Emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka was 314,146 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 Sri Lanka?

The highest recorded value was 336,497 tonnes in 2016.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Sri Lanka?

The lowest recorded value was 168.13 tonnes in 1750.

How does Sri Lanka rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Sri Lanka ranks 55th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Sri Lanka?

Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka
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)

Sri Lanka: Emissions of air pollutants was 314,146 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

314,146 tonnes

Change on year

up 0.4%

World rank

55th

of 220 countries

All-time high

336,497 tonnes

in 2016

All-time low

168.13 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka is 314,146 tonnes, measured in 2022.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka peaked at 336,497 tonnes in 2016 and was at its lowest, 168.13 tonnes, in 1750.

Sri Lanka ranks 55th 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	169.49 tonnes	168.13 tonnes	170.85 tonnes	10
1760s	172.53 tonnes	171.15 tonnes	173.91 tonnes	10
1770s	175.61 tonnes	174.22 tonnes	177.01 tonnes	10
1780s	178.74 tonnes	177.32 tonnes	180.16 tonnes	10
1790s	181.91 tonnes	180.47 tonnes	183.35 tonnes	10
1800s	185.72 tonnes	183.67 tonnes	187.78 tonnes	10
1810s	190.34 tonnes	188.24 tonnes	192.44 tonnes	10
1820s	208.22 tonnes	192.91 tonnes	223.57 tonnes	10
1830s	253.24 tonnes	227 tonnes	279.55 tonnes	10
1840s	318.38 tonnes	285.42 tonnes	351.44 tonnes	10
1850s	369.95 tonnes	337.12 tonnes	409.58 tonnes	10
1860s	476.58 tonnes	420.1 tonnes	544.55 tonnes	10
1870s	568.43 tonnes	557.95 tonnes	589.99 tonnes	10
1880s	651.84 tonnes	598.01 tonnes	746.46 tonnes	10
1890s	883.98 tonnes	774.7 tonnes	1,032 tonnes	10
1900s	1,459 tonnes	1,071 tonnes	1,896 tonnes	10
1910s	2,455 tonnes	2,008 tonnes	2,945 tonnes	10
1920s	3,856 tonnes	3,066 tonnes	4,673 tonnes	10
1930s	5,482 tonnes	4,839 tonnes	6,346 tonnes	10
1940s	8,006 tonnes	6,582 tonnes	9,849 tonnes	10
1950s	23,819 tonnes	17,894 tonnes	29,080 tonnes	10
1960s	38,810 tonnes	29,720 tonnes	52,903 tonnes	10
1970s	86,750 tonnes	49,467 tonnes	99,918 tonnes	10
1980s	107,484 tonnes	88,293 tonnes	125,316 tonnes	10
1990s	153,700 tonnes	125,776 tonnes	181,089 tonnes	10
2000s	206,699 tonnes	185,128 tonnes	229,388 tonnes	10
2010s	292,154 tonnes	243,375 tonnes	336,497 tonnes	10
2020s	306,714 tonnes	293,242 tonnes	314,146 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

52 Gibraltar 333,827 tonnes compare
53 Panama 320,577 tonnes compare
54 Peru 319,740 tonnes compare
56 Sweden 298,546 tonnes compare
57 Sudan 297,518 tonnes compare
58 Morocco 251,040 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Sri Lanka

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka?: Emissions of air pollutants in Sri Lanka was 314,146 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 Sri Lanka?: The highest recorded value was 336,497 tonnes in 2016.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Sri Lanka?: The lowest recorded value was 168.13 tonnes in 1750.
How does Sri Lanka rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Sri Lanka ranks 55th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Sri Lanka?: Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.