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Africa was 18% of the world's people in 2023 but under 4% of global CO2 emissions
Africa held about 18.3% of the world population in 2023 yet produced only about 3.9% of global CO2 emissions that year.
Updated October 2026 · Data year 2023
Figure 1
Africa held about 18.3% of the world population in 2023 yet produced only about 3.9% of global CO2 emissions that year.
18.3%
Share of world population · % of world total
Source: Our World in Data, UN DESA, World Population Prospects 2024 · 2023 · Both figures are 2023. Emissions share is 3.89% in 2023 and 3.89% in 2024, so the gap is stable. Emissions are fossil fuel and industry CO2 from the Global Carbon Budget 2025. Population is UN World Population Prospects 2024 revision.
In 2023 Africa was home to about 18.3% of all people on Earth but accounted for only about 3.89% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry [S1][S2]. That is a roughly five to one gap between the continent's share of population and its share of emissions. The emissions share has barely moved, sitting at 3.89% again in 2024 [S1]. The honest caveat is that this is a continent-wide average. South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria produce a large part of Africa's emissions, so most individual African countries sit far below even the 3.89% continental figure.
Takeaways
- Africa: about 18% of world population, under 4% of global CO2 emissions in 2023.
- The emissions share held at 3.89% in both 2023 and 2024.
- A few large economies account for much of Africa's total, so most countries are well below average.
Sources
- TIER B Our World in Data, Annual share of global CO2 emissions (Global Carbon Budget 2025) (2023). https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-share-of-co2-emissions
Africa aggregate share of global fossil and industry CO2 emissions: 3.889885% in 2023 and 3.8915908% in 2024. Primary dataset is the Global Carbon Project (Global Carbon Budget 2025), processed by Our World in Data. - TIER A UN DESA, World Population Prospects 2024, Population, Africa and World (via Our World in Data) (2023). https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population
2023 population: Africa 1,479,690,254 and World 8,091,734,933, giving Africa an 18.3% share. Source is the UN World Population Prospects 2024 revision, accessed via Our World in Data.