China vs United States: Contribution to global mean surface temperature rise
China
0.2174 °C
in 2024
United States
0.2962 °C
in 2024
China rank
2nd
United States rank
1st
Contribution to global mean surface temperature rise over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 0.2962 °C against 0.2174 °C in China, a difference of 0.0788 °C.
That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times China's.
Across all 174 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 215 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 18 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 0.0004 °C | 0.0022 °C | 0.0018 °C | United States |
| 1860s | 0.0008 °C | 0.0067 °C | 0.0059 °C | United States |
| 1870s | 0.0008 °C | 0.0124 °C | 0.0116 °C | United States |
| 1880s | 0.0012 °C | 0.0202 °C | 0.019 °C | United States |
| 1890s | 0.0022 °C | 0.0292 °C | 0.0269 °C | United States |
| 1900s | 0.0038 °C | 0.0402 °C | 0.0364 °C | United States |
| 1910s | 0.0061 °C | 0.054 °C | 0.0479 °C | United States |
| 1920s | 0.009 °C | 0.0692 °C | 0.0602 °C | United States |
| 1930s | 0.0123 °C | 0.0827 °C | 0.0704 °C | United States |
| 1940s | 0.0163 °C | 0.0964 °C | 0.0801 °C | United States |
| 1950s | 0.0218 °C | 0.1145 °C | 0.0926 °C | United States |
| 1960s | 0.0305 °C | 0.1362 °C | 0.1057 °C | United States |
| 1970s | 0.0436 °C | 0.165 °C | 0.1214 °C | United States |
| 1980s | 0.0609 °C | 0.1936 °C | 0.1327 °C | United States |
| 1990s | 0.0827 °C | 0.2194 °C | 0.1367 °C | United States |
| 2000s | 0.1111 °C | 0.2464 °C | 0.1353 °C | United States |
| 2010s | 0.1593 °C | 0.2724 °C | 0.1131 °C | United States |
| 2020s | 0.2039 °C | 0.2911 °C | 0.0872 °C | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher contribution to global mean surface temperature rise, China or United States?
- United States, at 0.2962 °C against 0.2174 °C in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in contribution to global mean surface temperature rise between China and United States?
- 0.0788 °C, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 174 years are reported by both, from 1851 to 2024.
- How do China and United States rank globally for contribution to global mean surface temperature rise?
- China ranks 2nd and United States ranks 1st of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Contribution to global mean surface temperature rise. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in °C.