Outdoor air pollution exposure in India
India: Outdoor air pollution exposure was 44.2 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
44.2
Change on year
down 6.2%
World rank
12th
of 241 countries
All-time high
59.8
in 2016
All-time low
31.3
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Outdoor air pollution exposure in India, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded 44.2 for outdoor air pollution exposure in 2024.
The figure is down 6.2% on the previous year and down 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, outdoor air pollution exposure in India peaked at 59.8 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 31.3, in 1998.
That places India 12th out of 241 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Outdoor air pollution exposure in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 31.3 | — |
| 1999 | 32 | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 36.6 | +14.4% |
| 2001 | 39.1 | +6.8% |
| 2002 | 39.5 | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 42.1 | +6.6% |
| 2004 | 42.6 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 42.2 | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 44.3 | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 46.1 | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 50.2 | +8.9% |
| 2009 | 49.5 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 49.6 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 53.1 | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 51.2 | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 51.8 | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 51.2 | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 56.4 | +10.2% |
| 2016 | 59.8 | +6.0% |
| 2017 | 58.3 | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 56.9 | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 53.3 | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 48.1 | -9.8% |
| 2021 | 52 | +8.1% |
| 2022 | 48.7 | -6.3% |
| 2023 | 47.1 | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 44.2 | -6.2% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 44.2 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.7, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 44.2 is above the median for South Asia, which is 32.7, 1.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31.65 | 31.3 | 32 | 2 |
| 2000s | 43.22 | 36.6 | 50.2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.16 | 49.6 | 59.8 | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.02 | 44.2 | 52 | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.3669 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0072 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 3.51 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is outdoor air pollution exposure in India?
- Outdoor air pollution exposure in India was 44.2 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 59.8 in 2016.
- What is the lowest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.3 in 1998.
- How does India rank for outdoor air pollution exposure?
- India ranks 12th out of 241 countries with data for 2024.
- Is outdoor air pollution exposure rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Outdoor air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).