What is emissions of air pollutants in Zambia?

Emissions of air pollutants in Zambia was 57,281 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 Zambia?

The highest recorded value was 57,281 tonnes in 2022.

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

The lowest recorded value was 142.72 tonnes in 1750.

How does Zambia rank for emissions of air pollutants?

Zambia ranks 121st out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Zambia?

Over the last ten years it is up 29.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Zambia 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 Zambia

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in Zambia
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)

Zambia: Emissions of air pollutants was 57,281 tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

57,281 tonnes

Change on year

up 2.2%

World rank

121st

of 220 countries

All-time high

57,281 tonnes

in 2022

All-time low

142.72 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 57,281 tonnes, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 273 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 29.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in Zambia peaked at 57,281 tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 142.72 tonnes, in 1750.

Zambia ranks 121st of 220 countries on this measure, 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	142.92 tonnes	142.72 tonnes	143.11 tonnes	10
1760s	143.35 tonnes	143.16 tonnes	143.55 tonnes	10
1770s	143.78 tonnes	143.59 tonnes	143.98 tonnes	10
1780s	144.21 tonnes	144.02 tonnes	144.4 tonnes	10
1790s	144.64 tonnes	144.45 tonnes	144.83 tonnes	10
1800s	146.97 tonnes	144.87 tonnes	149.08 tonnes	10
1810s	152.01 tonnes	149.55 tonnes	154.48 tonnes	10
1820s	157.52 tonnes	155.03 tonnes	160.03 tonnes	10
1830s	163.11 tonnes	160.59 tonnes	165.65 tonnes	10
1840s	168.78 tonnes	166.22 tonnes	171.35 tonnes	10
1850s	174.56 tonnes	171.92 tonnes	177.21 tonnes	10
1860s	186.09 tonnes	177.8 tonnes	195.75 tonnes	10
1870s	209.03 tonnes	198.07 tonnes	220.38 tonnes	10
1880s	235.65 tonnes	223.03 tonnes	248.83 tonnes	10
1890s	266.86 tonnes	251.95 tonnes	282.42 tonnes	10
1900s	328.54 tonnes	286.08 tonnes	375.82 tonnes	10
1910s	470.46 tonnes	387.91 tonnes	560.51 tonnes	10
1920s	705.14 tonnes	583.02 tonnes	840.36 tonnes	10
1930s	1,051 tonnes	869.13 tonnes	1,335 tonnes	10
1940s	1,885 tonnes	1,426 tonnes	2,373 tonnes	10
1950s	11,616 tonnes	6,290 tonnes	15,612 tonnes	10
1960s	19,660 tonnes	15,610 tonnes	25,720 tonnes	10
1970s	27,590 tonnes	23,637 tonnes	30,844 tonnes	10
1980s	27,981 tonnes	26,272 tonnes	30,841 tonnes	10
1990s	27,825 tonnes	24,668 tonnes	30,954 tonnes	10
2000s	30,661 tonnes	26,698 tonnes	34,325 tonnes	10
2010s	48,234 tonnes	36,111 tonnes	54,284 tonnes	10
2020s	55,467 tonnes	53,087 tonnes	57,281 tonnes	3

Countries ranked near Zambia

118 Papua New Guinea 61,833 tonnes compare
119 Yemen 60,162 tonnes compare
120 Benin 60,140 tonnes compare
122 Guinea 56,242 tonnes compare
123 Nicaragua 54,155 tonnes compare
124 Slovakia 52,425 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Zambia

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.81 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 8.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0539 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0026 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0155 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in Zambia?: Emissions of air pollutants in Zambia was 57,281 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 Zambia?: The highest recorded value was 57,281 tonnes in 2022.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in Zambia?: The lowest recorded value was 142.72 tonnes in 1750.
How does Zambia rank for emissions of air pollutants?: Zambia ranks 121st out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in Zambia?: Over the last ten years it is up 29.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia 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.