Share of plastic waste exports in Australia
Australia: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.9% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of plastic waste exports in Australia, 1988–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of plastic waste exports in Australia is 0.9%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 39.2% on the previous year and down 34.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Australia peaked at 2.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2019.
Australia ranks 23rd of 162 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of plastic waste exports in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 1.1% | — |
| 1989 | 0.7% | -32.0% |
| 1994 | 0.3% | -61.1% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | +122.4% |
| 1996 | 0.5% | -23.4% |
| 2001 | 0.8% | +65.5% |
| 2005 | 0.9% | +15.1% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | -7.4% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | +18.8% |
| 2011 | 1.0% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | +25.5% |
| 2013 | 1.2% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | +7.1% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | +12.6% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +17.7% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | -17.4% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | +50.8% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | — |
| 2021 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | — |
| 2023 | 1.4% | -18.6% |
| 2024 | 0.9% | -39.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 0.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 6.1× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Australia's 0.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 64.2× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 0.0% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.0% | 2.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 20 Dominican Republic 1.0% compare
- 21 Indonesia 0.9% compare
- 22 Tunisia 0.9% compare
- 24 New Zealand 0.8% compare
- 25 Saudi Arabia 0.8% compare
- 26 Finland 0.8% compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of plastic waste exports in Australia?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Australia was 0.9% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2018.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2019.
- How does Australia rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Australia ranks 23rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.