Australia vs New Zealand: Per capita nitrous oxide emissions

Australia
2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
New Zealand
2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Australia rank
4th
New Zealand rank
3rd

Per capita nitrous oxide emissions over time

  • Australia
  • New Zealand
05101520185019372024

How they compare

New Zealand currently reports 2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Australia, a difference of 0 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.

The two have swapped places 26 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was New Zealand ahead.

Australia ranks 4th and New Zealand ranks 3rd of 201 countries.

Across the 18 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 10 and New Zealand in 8.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia New Zealand Difference Ahead
1850s 10.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 18.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 8.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1860s 6.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 11.48 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 5.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1870s 5.94 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 7.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 1.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1880s 6.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 6.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.1169 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1890s 4.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.2989 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1900s 4.06 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.08 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0247 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1910s 4.26 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.1411 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1920s 3.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.82 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0599 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1930s 3.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.46 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0632 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1940s 3.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.81 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0855 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1950s 4.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0462 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1960s 4.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.62 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.0545 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1970s 4.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.3168 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
1980s 4.31 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 4.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.2179 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand
1990s 4.07 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.3121 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
2000s 3.87 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.44 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.4298 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
2010s 3.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 3.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.1469 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person Australia
2020s 2.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 2.64 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person 0.2039 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person New Zealand

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher per capita nitrous oxide emissions, Australia or New Zealand?
New Zealand, at 2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 2.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Australia as of 2024.
What is the difference in per capita nitrous oxide emissions between Australia and New Zealand?
0 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with New Zealand ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and New Zealand?
175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
How do Australia and New Zealand rank globally for per capita nitrous oxide emissions?
Australia ranks 4th and New Zealand ranks 3rd of 201 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Per capita nitrous oxide emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Per capita nitrous oxide emissions
Unit
tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
Source
Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
201 places, 34,339 data points, 1850–2024
Last refreshed

Measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.