Municipal waste collected in China
China: Municipal waste collected was 254.08 million tonnes in 2023. β² Rising
Municipal waste collected in China, 2000β2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
China recorded 254.08 million tonnes for municipal waste collected in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 47.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste collected in China peaked at 254.08 million tonnes in 2023 and was at its lowest, 118.19 million tonnes, in 2000.
China ranks 1st of 103 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 146.11 million tonnes | 118.19 million tonnes | 157.34 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 192.41 million tonnes | 158.05 million tonnes | 242.06 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 245.58 million tonnes | 235.12 million tonnes | 254.08 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation 0.279 Β°C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 Β°C (2025)
- Recovered paper β Production 73.29 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish β Production 105.03 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified β Import value 177,011 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified β Import quantity 91,039 t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard β Export value 6.10 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard β Export quantity 6.54 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard β Import value 5.76 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard β Import quantity 10.36 million t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste collected in China?
- Municipal waste collected in China was 254.08 million tonnes in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest municipal waste collected recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 254.08 million tonnes in 2023.
- What is the lowest municipal waste collected recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 118.19 million tonnes in 2000.
- How does China rank for municipal waste collected?
- China ranks 1st out of 103 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal waste collected rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Municipal waste collected (Tonnes). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 24 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).