ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
 

Air pollution

last update: August 2009
 
 

SO2 Emissions

                 
latest year
available
SO2  emissions

% change since
1990
SO2  emissions
per capita
   
 
1000 tonnes
%
kg
Algeria 1994
39.69
...
1.43
Andorra* 1997
0.69
1
...
10.51
Antigua and Barbuda 1990
2.83
...
45.70
Argentina 1997
24.00
50.0
0.67
Australia 2006
904.55
-43.3
43.85
Austria 2006
28.46
-61.7
3.44
Azerbaijan 1994
48.00
-18.6
6.25
Barbados 1997
0.05
...
0.20
Belarus 2006
169.74
-84.3
17.37
Belgium 2006
112.09
-64.9
10.70
Belize 1994
0.53
...
2.48
Benin 1995
0.17
...
0.03
Bhutan 1994
0.05
...
0.10
Bolivia 2000
12.11
8.5
1.46
Bulgaria 2006
1 029.90
-32.1
133.93
Cambodia 1994
25.69
...
2.32
Cameroon 1994
2.53
...
0.18
Chile 1994
1 968.10
...
138.83
Colombia 1994
170.27
20.1
4.76
Comoros 1994
0.36
...
0.74
Costa Rica 1996
2.10
...
0.59
Croatia 2006
67.20
-61.9
15.15
Cuba 1996
432.38
-0.1
39.47
Czech Republic 2006
211.23
-88.7
20.66
Dem. Rep. of the Congo* 1994
0.12
51.2
0.00
Denmark 2006
25.05
-85.9
4.61
Dominica 1994
0.15
...
2.24
Dominican Republic 1994
116.34
51.0
14.59
Estonia 2006
123.53
-51.9
91.87
Ethiopia 1995
13.20
18.9
0.23
Finland 2006
84.06
-66.2
15.97
France 2006
514.36
-62.6
8.38
Gabon 1994
1.00
...
0.95
Georgia* 2002
5.21
-97.9
1.12
Germany 2006
558.37
-89.6
6.78
Greece 2006
535.62
13.6
48.31
Guatemala 1990
74.50
...
8.36
Guinea 1994
0.44
...
0.06
Haiti 1994
9.45
...
1.23
Honduras 1995
0.30
...
0.05
Hungary 2006
123.11
- 71.7
2
12.24
Iceland 2006
43.79
118.5
145.28
Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1994
29.13
...
0.48
Ireland 2006
59.63
-67.3
13.96
Israel* 2000
320.17
...
52.62
Italy 2006
388.74
-78.3
6.59
Jamaica 1994
99.70
...
40.79
Japan 2006
839.55
-17.1
6.59
Kazakhstan* 2002
1 132.20
-23.7
75.85
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. 1990
4 170.00
...
207.02
Kyrgyzstan 2000
31.79
-71.9
6.42
Latvia 2006
3.25
-96.8
1.43
Lebanon 1994
82.99
...
24.46
Lesotho* 1998
0.00
...
...
Lithuania 2006
41.62
-80.6
12.28
Luxembourg 2006
0.04
-99.7
0.09
Madagascar 1994
34.65
...
2.72
Mali 1995
0.00
...
0.00
Malta 2000
26.48
41.4
68.09
Mauritania 1995
0.19
...
0.08
Mauritius* 2002
30.60
...
25.10
Micronesia, Federated States of 1994
0.53
...
4.97
Monaco 2006
0.05
-34.0
1.50
Morocco 1994
295.00
...
11.11
Netherlands 2006
64.43
-66.1
3.93
New Zealand 2006
81.27
49.8
19.57
Nicaragua 1994
4.59
...
1.01
Niue 1994
2 211.18
...
1 027 022.76
Norway 2006
20.94
-60.0
4.48
Pakistan 1994
775.46
...
6.09
Panama 1994
1.85
  
...
  
0.71
  
Paraguay 1994
0.28
  
-6.6
  
0.06
  
Peru 1994
123.26
  
...
  
5.24
  
Philippines 1994
458.53
  
...
  
6.70
  
Poland 2006
1 202.89
  
-62.5
  
31.52
  
Portugal 2006
190.82
  
-40.4
  
18.01
  
Republic of Moldova 1998
31.83
  
-88.0
  
7.55
  
Romania 2006
497.23
  
-29.7
  
23.08
  
Russian Federation 2006
619.74
  
-23.7
  
4.35
  
Saint Lucia 1994
0.61
  
...
  
4.18
  
Slovakia 2006
87.75
  
-83.3
  
16.28
  
Slovenia 2006
17.92
  
-92.9
  
8.94
  
Spain 2006
1 169.66
  
-46.1
  
26.84
  
Sri Lanka 1995
43.00
  
...
  
2.36
  
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1997
0.32
  
26.8
  
2.98
  
Sudan 1995
1.00
  
...
  
0.03
  
Swaziland 1994
1.97
  
...
  
2.08
  
Sweden 2006
39.28
  
-63.7
  
4.31
  
Switzerland 2006
17.60
  
-58.2
  
2.35
  
Tajikistan 1998
2.90
  
-91.6
  
0.48
  
Togo 1995
0.13
  
...
  
0.03
  
Trinidad and Tobago* 1996
8.60
 3
-1.7
  
6.76
  
Tunisia 1994
77.86
  
...
  
8.84
  
Turkey 2006
974.27
  
16.6
  
13.52
  
Turkmenistan 1994
22.89
  
...
  
5.59
  
Ukraine 2006
1 601.45
  
-69.8
  
34.36
  
United Kingdom 2006
675.63
  
-81.8
  
11.15
  
United Rep. of Tanzania 1994
175.74
  
8.4
  
6.04
  
United States 2006
12 257.93
  
-41.4
  
40.10
  
Uruguay 1998
54.48
  
28.8
  
16.55
  
Uzbekistan 1994
276.00
  
-51.5
  
12.28
  
Viet Nam 1994
1 911.10
  
...
  
26.66
  
Yemen 1995
7.69
  
...
  
0.50
  
Zambia 1994
6.42
  
...
  
0.72
  

 

Sources:

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat (see: http://unfccc.int).
UNSD/UNEP 2004 Questionnaire on Environment Statistics, Air section, marked with " * ".
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision, New York, 2009 (advanced Excel tables).


Footnotes:

  1. Emissions due to transport, other fuel combustion, and other sources.
  2. Percentage change since 1991.
  3. Emissions due to fuel combustion in energy industries, industry, and transport, plus emissions from industrial processes.


Definitions & Technical notes:

Data on emissions of SO2 are usually estimated according to international methodologies on the basis of national statistics on energy, industrial and agricultural production, waste management, etc.

The most widely used methodologies are the 1996 Guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) (see http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gl/invs1.html) which is the basis for reporting to the UNFCCC. The latest revision and update of this guideline is 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (see http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.htm). In earlier years the guidelines produced for the UNECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution were widely used in Europe, and are still used in some countries. The main source of SO2 is burning of fuels, including biomass. 

SO2 emissions per capita is calculated by UNSD.


Data Quality:

Standardised methods for calculating SO2 emissions from fuel combustion have been available for many years. The amount of SO2 emitted is directly related to the sulphur content of the fossil fuels consumed in the country, and the desulphurisation techniques used, if any. Data on emissions from fuel combustion are considered to be reasonable.
United Nations Statistics Division - Environment Statistics