Share of global plastic waste imports in China
China: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.0% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in China, 1992–2020
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 global plastic waste imports in China is 0.0%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of down 66.0% on the previous year and down 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in China peaked at 55.9% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2020.
That places China 94th out of 183 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 33.4% | — |
| 1993 | 20.4% | -38.8% |
| 1994 | 18.4% | -10.1% |
| 1995 | 19.4% | +5.7% |
| 1996 | 8.8% | -54.6% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | +64.1% |
| 1998 | 18.7% | +29.5% |
| 1999 | 31.3% | +67.3% |
| 2000 | 36.9% | +17.9% |
| 2001 | 39.4% | +6.8% |
| 2002 | 40.4% | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 43.1% | +6.8% |
| 2004 | 45.6% | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 45.5% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 45.1% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 49.3% | +9.2% |
| 2008 | 49.6% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 48.2% | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 49.5% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 51.3% | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 55.9% | +8.9% |
| 2013 | 53.2% | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 54.1% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 49.2% | -9.0% |
| 2016 | 53.3% | +8.3% |
| 2017 | 45.4% | -14.8% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -98.4% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | -97.7% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -66.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 1.3× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- China's 0.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%, 1.8× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | -98.4% | 45.4% | 0.7% |
| 2019 | -97.7% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | -66.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1999 | +67.3% | 18.7% | 31.3% |
| 1997 | +64.1% | 8.8% | 14.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.6% | 8.8% | 33.4% | 8 |
| 2000s | 44.3% | 36.9% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.3% | 0.0% | 55.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % 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 -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9037 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in China?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in China was 0.0% in 2020, 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 global plastic waste imports recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 55.9% in 2012.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2020.
- How does China rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- China ranks 94th out of 183 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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 global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.