PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in China
China: PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim was 81.2% in 2017. ▼ Falling
PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in China, 1990–2017
Source: Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2017, pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in China stood at 81.2%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in China peaked at 95.4% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 81.1%, in 2016.
China ranks 37th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in China, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 90.8% | — |
| 1995 | 90.9% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 92.2% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 94.3% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 94.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 95.4% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 92.0% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 91.7% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 89.8% | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 86.7% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 81.1% | -6.4% |
| 2017 | 81.2% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 90.8% | 90.8% | 90.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.3% | 92.2% | 94.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 89.1% | 81.1% | 95.4% | 8 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate -7.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0073 t per person (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -4.07 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import value, per capita 0.0041 1000 USD per person (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import -15.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import 0.0001 t per person (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.05 Percentage change (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in China?
- Pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in China was 81.2% in 2017, according to Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
- What is the highest pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 95.4% in 2011.
- What is the lowest pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 81.1% in 2016.
- How does China rank for pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim?
- China ranks 37th out of 194 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published as part of PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim Target-1 value (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percent of population exposed to ambient concentrations of PM2.5 that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Target 1 (IT-1) is defined as the portion of a country’s population living in places where mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 are greater than 35 micrograms per cubic meter. The Air Quality Guideline (AQG) of 10 micrograms per cubic meter is recommended by the WHO as the lower end of the range of concentrations over which adverse health effects due to PM2.5 exposure have been observed.