How have things changed?, per capita in United States

United States: How have things changed?, per capita was 0.0138 metric tons per person in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
0.0138 metric tons per person
Change on year
down 10.0%
World rank
90th
of 215 countries
All-time high
0.0253 metric tons per person
in 1987
All-time low
0.0126 metric tons per person
in 1967
Years of data
60
1965–2024

How have things changed?, per capita in United States, 1965–2024

00.010.020.03196519942024

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in metric tons per person.

Analysis

In 2024, how have things changed?, per capita in United States stood at 0.0138 metric tons per person.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.0% on the previous year and down 24.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, how have things changed?, per capita in United States peaked at 0.0253 metric tons per person in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0.0126 metric tons per person, in 1967.

United States ranks 90th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.

How have things changed?, per capita in United States, year by year

Annual values for How have things changed?, per capita in United States, 1965 to 2024.
Year metric tons per person Change
1965 0.0146 metric tons per person —
1966 0.0133 metric tons per person -9.0%
1967 0.0126 metric tons per person -5.0%
1968 0.013 metric tons per person +2.8%
1969 0.0128 metric tons per person -1.2%
1970 0.0147 metric tons per person +14.5%
1971 0.0148 metric tons per person +1.3%
1972 0.0142 metric tons per person -4.2%
1973 0.0142 metric tons per person -0.2%
1974 0.0144 metric tons per person +1.7%
1975 0.0143 metric tons per person -0.7%
1976 0.0151 metric tons per person +5.5%
1977 0.0147 metric tons per person -2.7%
1978 0.0164 metric tons per person +11.8%
1979 0.0167 metric tons per person +1.3%
1980 0.0171 metric tons per person +2.9%
1981 0.0172 metric tons per person +0.5%
1982 0.0183 metric tons per person +6.2%
1983 0.0191 metric tons per person +4.1%
1984 0.0216 metric tons per person +13.3%
1985 0.0213 metric tons per person -1.3%
1986 0.022 metric tons per person +3.3%
1987 0.0253 metric tons per person +15.0%
1988 0.025 metric tons per person -1.2%
1989 0.0241 metric tons per person -3.6%
1990 0.0244 metric tons per person +1.3%
1991 0.0227 metric tons per person -7.2%
1992 0.023 metric tons per person +1.2%
1993 0.024 metric tons per person +4.5%
1994 0.0237 metric tons per person -1.2%
1995 0.0219 metric tons per person -7.7%
1996 0.021 metric tons per person -4.0%
1997 0.0214 metric tons per person +1.6%
1998 0.02 metric tons per person -6.6%
1999 0.0204 metric tons per person +2.1%
2000 0.0195 metric tons per person -4.3%
2001 0.0202 metric tons per person +3.6%
2002 0.0203 metric tons per person +0.3%
2003 0.0203 metric tons per person +0.3%
2004 0.0204 metric tons per person +0.4%
2005 0.0197 metric tons per person -3.2%
2006 0.0195 metric tons per person -1.0%
2007 0.019 metric tons per person -2.9%
2008 0.0168 metric tons per person -11.5%
2009 0.0163 metric tons per person -2.8%
2010 0.017 metric tons per person +4.2%
2011 0.0187 metric tons per person +10.1%
2012 0.0185 metric tons per person -1.1%
2013 0.0188 metric tons per person +1.6%
2014 0.0183 metric tons per person -2.8%
2015 0.0182 metric tons per person -0.8%
2016 0.018 metric tons per person -0.9%
2017 0.0182 metric tons per person +0.8%
2018 0.0179 metric tons per person -1.6%
2019 0.0176 metric tons per person -1.5%
2020 0.0155 metric tons per person -11.9%
2021 0.0156 metric tons per person +0.8%
2022 0.0155 metric tons per person -0.7%
2023 0.0153 metric tons per person -1.4%
2024 0.0138 metric tons per person -10.0%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 0.0138 metric tons per person is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0138 metric tons per person, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 0.0132 metric tons per person 0.0126 metric tons per person 0.0146 metric tons per person 5
1970s 0.015 metric tons per person 0.0142 metric tons per person 0.0167 metric tons per person 10
1980s 0.0211 metric tons per person 0.0171 metric tons per person 0.0253 metric tons per person 10
1990s 0.0222 metric tons per person 0.02 metric tons per person 0.0244 metric tons per person 10
2000s 0.0192 metric tons per person 0.0163 metric tons per person 0.0204 metric tons per person 10
2010s 0.0181 metric tons per person 0.017 metric tons per person 0.0188 metric tons per person 10
2020s 0.0151 metric tons per person 0.0138 metric tons per person 0.0156 metric tons per person 5

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 87 Uruguay 0.0143 metric tons per person compare
  2. 88 United Kingdom 0.0142 metric tons per person compare
  3. 89 Sweden 0.0142 metric tons per person compare
  4. 91 Colombia 0.0133 metric tons per person compare
  5. 92 Uganda 0.0128 metric tons per person compare
  6. 93 India 0.0127 metric tons per person compare

See the full ranking of 215 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is how have things changed?, per capita in United States?
How have things changed?, per capita in United States was 0.0138 metric tons per person in 2024, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest how have things changed?, per capita recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 0.0253 metric tons per person in 1987.
What is the lowest how have things changed?, per capita recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0126 metric tons per person in 1967.
How does United States rank for how have things changed?, per capita?
United States ranks 90th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
Is how have things changed?, per capita rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of How have things changed?, per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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How have things changed?, per capita in United States. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/how-have-things-changed-per-capita/united-states/

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How this figure is calculated

How have things changed? divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.

How have things changed? ÷ Population, total

Computed from

Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.

About this data

Indicator
How have things changed?, per capita
Unit
metric tons per person
Source
Statizoid (derived)
Licence
Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage
215 places, 11,930 data points, 1965–2024
Last refreshed

How have things changed? divided by Population, total, matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.