# Carbon vs Prosperity: CO2 Emissions and Wealth by Country, 1850–2022

> Interactive animated map on Moving Polygons by chrisjager, 1850 – 2022: 26 keyframes, 178 layers, 9 events.

- Map: https://www.movingpolygons.com/map/chrisjager/carbon-vs-prosperity-co2-emissions-and-wealth-by-country-18502022
- Article: [Carbon vs Prosperity, 1850–2022: An Animated Map of CO₂ Emissions and Wealth](https://www.movingpolygons.com/blog/co2-emissions-vs-gdp-per-capita-map-1850-2022)
- Poster, mug, shirt and more (coming soon): https://www.movingpolygons.com/shop/map/chrisjager/carbon-vs-prosperity-co2-emissions-and-wealth-by-country-18502022
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- Last updated: 2026-11-11

## About this map

How much carbon does prosperity cost? Each country is coloured by two figures at once: its income per person (the bluer, the richer) and its CO₂ emissions per person (the more orange and red, the more it emits). From 1850 to about 1980 the two rise together: Britain, then the United States, then every rich country turns dark, and in 1980 17 of the 23 rich countries emit more than 8 tonnes a person. Then they come apart. In 2022, 37 of the 59 rich countries are below 8 tonnes, among them Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, while the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and the Gulf states are still above it. China is by then above 8 tonnes at a middle income, and India is still under 2.

How to read it: the block of nine colours in the South Atlantic is the key. To the right is richer: GDP per person under $5,000, $5,000–20,000, over $20,000. Upward is more CO₂ per person: under 2 tonnes, 2–8 tonnes, over 8 tonnes. Cream is poor with low emissions, light blue is middle income with low emissions, mauve is middle income with medium emissions, brick red is middle income with high emissions, blue is rich with medium emissions and dark plum is rich with high emissions. No colour means no figures. Hover over or tap a country for its name. The bar at the top shows what the whole world emits in a year: it keeps growing, from 0.2 billion tonnes in 1850 to 37.5 billion in 2022. Between 1950 and 2022 the world's average income went up 5.0 times and its CO₂ per person 2.0 times; CO₂ per dollar fell from 0.71 to 0.28 kg.

Method: today's borders, also for the past; the class limits are the same in every year. GDP is in international dollars of 2011, corrected for inflation and purchasing power. Emissions are territorial: what is released inside the borders from fossil fuels and industry, not what a country consumes through imports; land use and deforestation are not counted. A year without a GDP figure is interpolated between the surrounding years; before 1950 there are figures for a few dozen countries only, and most Soviet republics appear in 1975, when their own figures begin. Sudan and South Sudan use the income of former Sudan, Northern Cyprus the figures of Cyprus. Islands and city states too small to see are drawn as discs.

Sources: Global Carbon Budget (Global Carbon Project), Maddison Project Database 2023 (Bolt and Van Zanden) and population figures, all via Our World in Data (retrieved 11 November 2026, CC BY 4.0). Borders: Natural Earth, simplified.

## Timeline

The map animates between these keyframes.

| Date | What the map shows |
| --- | --- |
| 1850 | 1850 · Only Britain and Belgium burn much coal |
| 1860 | 1860 · Britain passes $5,000 a person |
| 1870 | 1870 · The United States passes 2 t a person |
| 1880 | 1880 · Britain is the first above 8 t a person |
| 1890 | 1890 · France, Canada and the Netherlands pass 2 t |
| 1900 | 1900 · The United States joins Britain above 8 t |
| 1910 | 1910 · United States: 14 t a person on $9,600 |
| 1920 | 1920 · War leaves Germany and Austria poor again |
| 1930 | 1930 · World average stuck near 1.9 t a person |
| 1940 | 1940 · War economy: Germany passes 8 t a person |
| 1950 | 1950 · 139 countries: 107 are poor with low CO₂ |
| 1955 | 1955 · Oil makes Kuwait and Qatar rich, high-CO₂ |
| 1960 | 1960 · Japan, Russia, Poland reach middle income |
| 1965 | 1965 · The United States passes $20,000 a person |
| 1970 | 1970 · 7 countries are rich and high-CO₂ |
| 1975 | 1975 · 11 rich high emitters; Soviet figures begin |
| 1980 | 1980 · High CO₂ in 17 of the 23 rich countries |
| 1985 | 1985 · France, Japan and Sweden drop below 8 t |
| 1990 | 1990 · Eastern Bloc peak: Russia at 17 t a person |
| 1995 | 1995 · After the Soviet collapse: Russia at 11 t |
| 2000 | 2000 · South Korea and Taiwan: rich and high-CO₂ |
| 2005 | 2005 · China reaches middle income at 4.5 t |
| 2010 | 2010 · Peak: 34 rich countries above 8 t a person |
| 2015 | 2015 · Britain, Denmark and Austria drop below 8 t |
| 2020 | 2020 · Pandemic year: Germany dips below 8 t |
| 2022 | 2022 · China passes 8 t; 37 of 59 rich are below |

## Layers

| Layer | First shown | Last keyframe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rich = over $20,000, poor = under $5,000 | 1850 | 1850 |
| High CO₂ = over 8 t a person, low = under 2 t | 1850 | 1850 |
| Poor, high CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Middle income, high CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Rich, high CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Poor, medium CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Middle income, medium CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Rich, medium CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Poor, low CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Middle income, low CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Rich, low CO₂ | 1850 | 1850 |
| Afghanistan | 1950 | 1950 |
| Albania | 1940 | 2005 |
| Algeria | 1900 | 1995 |
| Angola | 1950 | 2010 |
| Argentina | 1860 | 1955 |
| Armenia | 1975 | 2020 |
| Australia | 1850 | 1975 |
| Austria | 1850 | 2015 |
| Azerbaijan | 1975 | 2005 |
| Bahrain | 1950 | 2005 |
| Bangladesh | 1950 | 1950 |
| Barbados | 1950 | 1975 |
| Belarus | 1975 | 1995 |
| Belgium | 1850 | 2020 |
| Benin | 1950 | 1950 |
| Bolivia | 1860 | 2010 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1950 | 2000 |
| Botswana | 1970 | 1990 |
| Brazil | 1860 | 2010 |
| Bulgaria | 1880 | 2022 |
| Burkina Faso | 1950 | 1950 |
| Burundi | 1950 | 1950 |
| Cambodia | 1955 | 1955 |
| Cameroon | 1950 | 1950 |
| Canada | 1850 | 1975 |
| Cape Verde | 1950 | 2010 |
| Central African Republic | 1950 | 1950 |
| Chad | 1950 | 1950 |
| Chile | 1850 | 2015 |
| China | 1910 | 2022 |
| Colombia | 1860 | 1975 |
| Comoros | 1960 | 1960 |
| Costa Rica | 1920 | 1970 |
| Croatia | 1950 | 2015 |
| Cuba | 1860 | 2020 |
| Cyprus | 1950 | 2000 |
| Czechia | 1970 | 2005 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 1950 | 1950 |
| DR Congo | 1950 | 1950 |
| Denmark | 1850 | 2015 |
| Djibouti | 1950 | 1950 |
| Dominica | 1950 | 2005 |
| Dominican Republic | 1950 | 2010 |
| Ecuador | 1890 | 2022 |
| Egypt | 1910 | 2005 |
| El Salvador | 1920 | 2000 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1950 | 2005 |
| Estonia | 1860 | 2022 |
| Eswatini | 1950 | 2005 |
| Ethiopia | 1950 | 1950 |
| Finland | 1860 | 2020 |
| France | 1850 | 1985 |
| Gabon | 1950 | 2020 |
| Gambia | 1950 | 1950 |
| Georgia | 1975 | 2015 |
| Germany | 1850 | 2020 |
| Ghana | 1950 | 1950 |
| Greece | 1870 | 2015 |
| Guatemala | 1920 | 1975 |
| Guinea | 1950 | 1950 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1950 | 1950 |
| Haiti | 1950 | 1950 |
| Honduras | 1920 | 2022 |
| Hong Kong | 1940 | 1985 |
| Hungary | 1870 | 2010 |
| Iceland | 1940 | 1990 |
| India | 1850 | 2015 |
| Indonesia | 1890 | 2015 |
| Iran | 1910 | 2020 |
| Iraq | 1930 | 2005 |
| Ireland | 1950 | 2020 |
| Israel | 1930 | 2020 |
| Italy | 1860 | 2010 |
| Jamaica | 1950 | 1990 |
| Japan | 1870 | 1990 |
| Jordan | 1950 | 2022 |
| Kazakhstan | 1975 | 2015 |
| Kenya | 1950 | 1950 |
| Kuwait | 1950 | 1995 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1975 | 2022 |
| Laos | 1955 | 2020 |
| Latvia | 1975 | 2015 |
| Lebanon | 1930 | 1995 |
| Lesotho | 1990 | 1990 |
| Liberia | 1950 | 1950 |
| Libya | 1950 | 2020 |
| Lithuania | 1975 | 2015 |
| Luxembourg | 1950 | 1970 |
| Madagascar | 1950 | 1950 |
| Malawi | 1950 | 1950 |
| Malaysia | 1890 | 2022 |
| Mali | 1960 | 1960 |
| Malta | 1950 | 2000 |
| Mauritania | 1960 | 1960 |
| Mauritius | 1950 | 2022 |
| Mexico | 1860 | 1970 |
| Moldova | 1975 | 2015 |
| Mongolia | 1950 | 2020 |
| Montenegro | 1950 | 2022 |
| Morocco | 1930 | 2005 |
| Mozambique | 1950 | 1950 |
| Myanmar | 1930 | 2020 |
| Namibia | 1990 | 1990 |
| Nepal | 1950 | 1950 |
| Netherlands | 1850 | 2020 |
| New Zealand | 1850 | 2015 |
| Nicaragua | 1920 | 2022 |
| Niger | 1950 | 1950 |
| Nigeria | 1920 | 2022 |
| North Korea | 1910 | 2020 |
| North Macedonia | 1950 | 1970 |
| Norway | 1850 | 2020 |
| Oman | 1965 | 2000 |
| Pakistan | 1950 | 2020 |
| Palestine | 1990 | 2020 |
| Panama | 1910 | 2022 |
| Paraguay | 1940 | 2005 |
| Peru | 1860 | 1995 |
| Philippines | 1910 | 2010 |
| Poland | 1850 | 2022 |
| Portugal | 1870 | 2000 |
| Qatar | 1950 | 2000 |
| Republic of the Congo | 1950 | 2020 |
| Romania | 1860 | 2020 |
| Russia | 1860 | 2010 |
| Rwanda | 1950 | 1950 |
| Saint Lucia | 1950 | 2000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1940 | 2000 |
| Senegal | 1950 | 1950 |
| Serbia | 1950 | 1965 |
| Seychelles | 1965 | 2010 |
| Sierra Leone | 1950 | 1950 |
| Singapore | 1950 | 1990 |
| Slovakia | 1985 | 2010 |
| Slovenia | 1950 | 2015 |
| South Africa | 1890 | 2020 |
| South Korea | 1910 | 2000 |
| South Sudan | 1950 | 1950 |
| Spain | 1850 | 2010 |
| Sri Lanka | 1950 | 2000 |
| Sudan | 1950 | 1950 |
| Sweden | 1850 | 1985 |
| Switzerland | 1860 | 1970 |
| Syria | 1930 | 2015 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 1950 | 1950 |
| Taiwan | 1850 | 2000 |
| Tajikistan | 1975 | 2022 |
| Tanzania | 1950 | 1950 |
| Thailand | 1930 | 1995 |
| Togo | 1950 | 1950 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1950 | 2005 |
| Tunisia | 1920 | 2000 |
| Turkey | 1870 | 2015 |
| Turkmenistan | 1975 | 2005 |
| Uganda | 1950 | 1950 |
| Ukraine | 1975 | 1995 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1960 | 1970 |
| United Kingdom | 1850 | 2015 |
| United States | 1850 | 1965 |
| Uruguay | 1860 | 2022 |
| Uzbekistan | 1975 | 2005 |
| Venezuela | 1870 | 2022 |
| Vietnam | 1890 | 2015 |
| Yemen | 1950 | 1950 |
| Zambia | 1950 | 1950 |
| Zimbabwe | 1920 | 1920 |
| Map frame (keeps the whole world in view) | 1850 | 2022 |

## Events

- **1850, Britain, the first coal economy**: In 1850 Britain emits 4.5 t of CO₂ a person on an income of $4,300. That is more than twice what India emits in 2022 (2.0 t). Britain first passes 8 t in 1873 and is last above it in 2010.
- **1905, The United States overtakes Britain**: By 1910 the United States emits 14.2 t a person, against 10.5 t in Britain, on an income of $9,600. In total emissions it passes Britain in 1890 and stays the world's largest emitter until China overtakes it in 2006.
- **1950, Oil states: rich before anyone else**: In 1950 Qatar has an income of $48,400 a person and emits 13.6 t; Kuwait is rich too. They are the only rich countries on the map that year. Small populations and a large oil industry make the Gulf states the darkest spots on the map from the 1970s on.
- **17 Oct 1973, Oil embargo, October 1973**: Arab oil producers, meeting in Kuwait, cut exports during the Yom Kippur War and the oil price roughly quadruples. France and Sweden answer with nuclear power and Japan with energy saving: France goes from 9.6 t a person in 1980 to 7.4 t in 1985, and all three are below 8 t by then.
- **26 Dec 1991, The Soviet Union dissolves, December 1991**: Heavy industry collapses with the planned economy. Russia falls from 17.1 t a person in 1990 to 11.0 t in 1995, while income drops from $12,400 to $8,600. Ukraine goes from 13.6 t to 7.6 t. Here emissions fell because people got poorer, not because the economy got cleaner.
- **11 Dec 1997, Kyoto Protocol, December 1997**: The first treaty with binding emission targets for industrialised countries is adopted in Kyoto. It enters into force in February 2005. The United States signs it but never ratifies it.
- **11 Dec 2001, China joins the WTO, December 2001**: China becomes the world's workshop. Its emissions go from 2.9 t a person in 2000 to 8.2 t in 2022, while income rises from $4,700 to $19,200. In 2022 China emits more per person than Britain, France or Italy, at about half their income.
- **12 Dec 2015, Paris Agreement, December 2015**: Nearly every country agrees to hold warming well below 2 °C. Unlike Kyoto, every country sets its own target, rich or poor.
- **1 Jun 2020, Britain in 2022: back at the level of 1850**: Britain emits 4.6 t of CO₂ a person in 2022, about what it emitted in 1850 (4.5 t), at roughly 9 times the income ($38,400 against $4,300). The figures count what is emitted inside the borders, not the emissions of imported goods.