List of countries by air pollution explained

The following list of countries by air pollution sorts the countries of the world according to their average measured concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³). The World Health Organization's recommended limit is 5 micrograms per cubic meter, although there are also various national guideline values, which are often much higher. Air pollution is among the biggest health problems of modern industrial society and is responsible for more than 10 percent of all deaths worldwide (nearly 4.5 million premature deaths in 2019), according to The Lancet. Air pollution can affect nearly every organ and system of the body, negatively affecting nature and humans alike. Air pollution is a particularly big problem in emerging and developing countries, where global environmental standards often cannot be met. The data in this list refers only to outdoor air quality and not indoor air quality, which caused an additional two million premature deaths in 2019.^[1]

list (based on 2020 UChicago data)

All data are valid for the year 2020 and are taken from the Air Quality Life Index (ACLI) of the University of Chicago. In addition to particulate matter pollution, the modeled potential loss of life expectancy of the population due to particulate matter pollution is given.^[2]

Rank	particulate matter (PM2.5) in (μg/m³) WHO-Guideline=5	Loss of life expectancy (years)
1	76.90	−6.93
2	55.80	−4.98
3	47.13	−4.13
4	44.17	−3.84
5	34.20	−2.86
6	32.95	−2.74
7	31.76	−2.62
8	31.63	−2.61
9	31.47	−2.59
10	31.42	−2.58
11	29.19	−2.37
12	28.71	−2.32
13	28.61	−2.31
14	28.45	−2.30
15	28.00	−2.25
16	27.92	−2.25
17	27.25	−2.18
18	26.91	−2.15
18	26.91	−2.15
20	25.60	−2.02
21	24.37	−1.90
22	23.88	−1.85
23	23.82	−1.84
23	23.82	−1.84
25	23.78	−1.84
26	23.67	−1.83
27	23.66	−1.83
28	22.97	−1.76
29	22.94	−1.76
30	21.58	−1.62
30	21.58	−1.56
32	20.81	−1.55
33	20.64	−1.53
34	20.34	−1.50
35	20.33	−1.53
36	20.27	−1.50
37	19.61	−1.43
38	19.37	−1.41
39	19.12	−1.38
40	18.63	−1.34
41	18.60	−1.33
42	17.99	−1.27
43	17.90	−1.26
44	17.79	−1.25
45	17.71	−1.25
46	17.68	−1.24
47	17.66	−1.24
48	17.37	−1.21
49	17.34	−1.21
50	17.17	−1.19
51	16.99	−1.17
52	16.83	−1.16
53	16.71	−1.15
54	16.65	−1.14
55	16.61	−1.14
56	16.38	−1.12
57	16.36	−1.11
58	16.33	−1.11
59	16.23	−1.10
60	16.16	−1.10
61	15.93	−1.07
62	15.75	−1.05
63	15.44	−1.02
64	15.00	−0.98
65	14.98	−0.98
66	14.97	−0.98
67	14.96	−0.98
68	14.92	−0.97
69	14.80	−0.96
70	14.53	−0.93
71	14.29	−0.91
72	14.24	−0.91
73	14.14	−0.90
74	13.80	−0.86
75	13.75	−0.86
76	13.74	−0.86
77	13.32	−0.82
78	13.10	−0.79
79	12.88	−0.77
80	12.83	−0.77
81	12.81	−0.77
82	12.80	−0.76
83	12.76	−0.76
84	12.69	−0.75
85	12.68	−0.75
86	12.65	−0.75
87	12.43	−0.73
88	12.39	−0.72
89	12.33	−0.72
90	12.29	−0.71
91	12.08	−0.69
92	12.00	−0.69
93	11.87	−0.67
94	11.78	−0.66
95	11.73	−0.66
96	11.68	−0.65
96	11.68	−0.65
98	11.66	−0.65
99	11.57	−0.65
100	11.45	−0.64
101	11.44	−0.63
102	11.35	−0.62
103	11.18	−0.61
104	11.16	−0.60
105	11.11	−0.60
106	11.07	−0.60
107	11.06	−0.59
108	11.06	−0.59
109	10.90	−0.58
110	10.80	−0.57
111	10.70	−0.56
112	10.67	−0.56
113	10.63	−0.55
114	10.59	−0.55
115	10.42	−0.53
116	10.28	−0.52
116	10.28	−0.52
118	10.06	−0.50
119	10.04	−0.50
120	9.98	−0.49
121	9.95	−0.50
122	9.89	−0.48
123	9.70	−0.46
124	9.65	−0.46
125	9.50	−0.40
126	8.72	−0.37
127	8.70	−0.36
128	8.55	−0.35
129	8.42	−0.34
130	8.23	−0.32
131	8.04	−0.30
132	8.02	−0.30
133	7.91	−0.28
134	7.84	−0.28
135	7.82	−0.28
136	7.77	−0.27
137	7.76	−0.27
138	7.62	−0.26
140	7.43	−0.25
139	7.24	−0.22
141	7.20	−0.22
142	7.19	−0.21
143	7.05	−0.21
143	7.05	−0.23
145	6.96	−0.20
146	6.94	−0.19
147	6.78	−0.17
148	6.69	−0.18
149	6.67	−0.17
150	6.66	−0.19
151	6.50	−0.15
152	6.39	−0.14
153	6.07	−0.11
154	5.61	−0.08
155	5.55	−0.06
156	5.54	−0.05
157	5.51	−0.07
158	5.47	−0.06
158	5.47	−0.05
160	5.45	−0.04
161	5.30	−0.07
162	5.16	−0.05
163	5.02	−0.03
164	4.90	−0.02
165	4.66	−0.07
166	4.56	0.00
167	4.56	−0.02
168	4.10	0.00
169	3.79	0.00
170	3.61	0.00
171	3.43	0.00
172	3.20	0.00
173	3.07	0.00
174	3.06	0.00
175	2.85	0.00
176	2.67	0.00
177	2.25	0.00
178	2.11	0.00
179	2.04	0.00
180	1.92	0.00
181	1.91	0.00
182	1.86	0.00
183	1.78	0.00
184	1.77	0.00
185	1.76	0.00
186	1.75	0.00
187	1.52	0.00
188	1.26	0.00
189	1.03	0.00
190	1.00	0.00
191	0.90	0.00
192	0.84	0.00
193	0.81	0.00
194	0.60	0.00
195	0.56	0.00

IQAir List (2018−2023)

All data are valid for the year 2018-2022 and are taken from the IQAir 2022 World Air Quality Ranking^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

Note: This table is outdated. Please go to the 2024 list below this list or go to the UChicago reference directly.

List of Countries/Regions by particulate matter (PM2.5)
in (μg/m³)
Rank	Country/Region	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	Population
-		Not ranked	89.7	76.0	--	--	--	19,093,595 (2024 CIA estimate)
1		79.9	65.8	76.9	77.1	83.3	97.1	169,828,911 (2022 Census)
2			80.1	49.7	--	39.6	--	43,533,592
3			70.9	66.8	59	65.8	74.3	231,402,117
4			66.6	49.8	39.7	46.8	59.8	1,463,265
6			63	--	--	--	--	22,100,683
7			55.8	29.7	34	38.3	56	4,250,114
8			53.3	58.1	51.9	58.1	72.5	1,428,627,663 (2023 UN estimate)
9			46.5	29.1	--	18	--	109,262,178
10			46	59.4	30.9	--	--	9,750,064
11			45.9	36	29.2	38.9	49.9	9,365,145
12			44.6	44.1	--	--	--	45,657,202
13			44	--	--	--	--	13,461,888
14			42.5	38.2	44.3	--	--	2,688,235
15			41.5	32.7	23.3	22.1	--	35,950,396
16			40.1	46	39.2	44.5	54.1	30,034,989
17			39.6	27.6	26.1	29.1	40.8	45,853,778
18			36.9	34	--	21.4	44.8	213,401,323
19			33.6	27.8	40.6	34.6	40	3,270,943
20			33.5	42.8	29.9	41.2	34.3	34,915,100
21			32.5	30.3	27.2	24.3	25	87,923,432
22			31.4	33.9	24.9	25.5	--	2,790,974
23			31.3	23.9	14.7	20.1	27.1	120,283,026
24			31.1	50.8	43.5	33.2	--	6,691,800
25			30.6	32.6	34.7	39.1	41.2	1,412,360,000
26			30.4	34.3	40.7	51.7	42	273,753,191
27			30.2	25.9	26.9	30.3	--	32,833,031
28			29.5	33.1	46.6	62	58.5	3,347,782
29			27.6	21.5	22.4	23.1	--	7,275,556
30			27.2	24.7	28	34.1	32.9	97,468,029
31			25.6	25.4	30.6	32.4	35.5	2,065,092
32			25	--	--	--	--	2,341,179
33			24.7	25.5	24.3	23.3	23.9	6,834,326
34			24.6	--	--	--	--	19,473,125
35			24.3	25.9	29.4	31	--	53,798,084
36			23.7	21	20	--	--	28,915,653
37			23.5	25.4	21.2	19.1	22.2	3,899,000
38			23.5	29.6	17.9	23.3	28	33,715,471
39			23.4	22.7	18	21.6	--	59,392,255
40			23	31.1	21.9	23.6	29.8	19,000,988
41			22.6	--	--	--	--	2,615,199
42			22.5	--	21.9	--	--	29,389,150
43			22.2	21.7	19.3	22.6	24.9	19,493,184
44			21.6	20.4	17	--	--	6,341,855
45			21.1	20	18.7	20.6	21.9	84,775,404
46			20.7	17.4	22.4	25.2	32	22,156,000
47			20.4	--	11.2	--	--	16,876,720
48			20	23	--	32.2	--	21,324,367
49			19.5	19.3	18.9	20	20.3	126,705,138
50			19	19	18.4	22.5	--	10,641,221
51			18.9	17.6	--	--	--	10,137,750
52			18.9	15.2	18.5	17.1	14.9	59,109,668
53			18.8	18.7	16.9	20.8	18.6	9,364,000
54			18.6	19.5	19.2	20.2	--	17,109,746
55			18.3	16.3	27.5	25.5	25.8	6,877,743
56			18.3	19.1	19.5	24.8	24	51,744,876
57			18.1	20.2	21.4	24.3	26.4	71,601,103
58			17.8	20	20.2	21.2	--	44,177,969
59			17.7	19.4	15.6	19.4	--	33,573,874
60			17.2	15.3	15.8	18.3	18.6	19,119,880
61			17	21	20.4	20.1	--	3,708,610
62			16.3	19.1	16.9	18.7	22.4	37,747,124
63			15.7	14.1	15.6	14.6	13.9	51,516,562
64			15.7	35.2	26.1	--	--	619,211
65			15.6	14.8	15.8	19.7	17.6	1,244,188
66			15.5	--	--	32.1	--	95,894,118
67			15.4	17	17.8	23.5	21.2	686,607
68			15.1	13.3	--	--	--	2,108,079
69			14.9	15.6	12.8	17.6	14.6	113,880,328
70			14.7	14.7	20	23.5	30.4	1,786,038
71			14.5	16	15.3	16.1	18.5	5,447,247
72			14.5	15.9	15.4	20.3	20.2	7,413,100
73			14.5	12.5	16	--	--	2,811,666
74			14.2	--	--	--	--	6,314,167
75			13.4	13.9	12.3	14.4	20.2	10,505,772
76			13.4	16.2	15	17.2	18.5	23,816,775
77			13.3	13.8	11.8	19	14.8	5,453,566
78			13.2	13.2	11.7	14.5	17.5	2,800,839
79			12.6	--	--	--	--	804,567
80			12.6	15.5	14.3	14.6	16.8	9,709,891
81			12.2	13.6	14.2	15.8	16.3	214,326,223
82			11.7	13.5	11.8	9.4	11	518,536
83			11.5	14.3	14.2	--	--	53,005,614
84			11.5	11.4	11.1	12.3	13.2	67,749,632
85			11.3	14.2	--	--	--	3,426,260
86			11.2	12.3	9.3	9.9	11.4	143,449,286
87			11	11.3	9.7	10.9	11.7	17,533,044
88			11	10.6	10.1	11	13	83,196,078
89			10.9	10.7	10.4	9.7	10.3	47,415,750
90			10.9	--	--	--	--	521,457
91			10.8	11.5	8.9	12.5	13.5	11,592,952
92			10.6	11.4	10.9	12.2	15	8,955,797
93			10.2	11.8	--	--	--	10,278,345
94			10.1	--	11.3	13.3	--	1,884,490
95			10	10.8	9	10.9	11.6	8,703,405
96			9.7	18.5	19.2	16.6	14	43,792,855
97			9.1	9.1	9.8	11.4	12	125,681,593
98			9	--	--	--	--	4,351,267
99			8.9	10.3	9.6	9	9.1	331,893,745
100			8.9	--	--	--	--	6,850,540
101			8.9	8.8	8.3	10.5	10.8	67,326,569
102			8.8	11	13	15.9	--	34,503,774
103			8.6	9.6	9.4	9.6	--	5,856,733
104			8.3	19.8	21.1	25.8	--	17,652,114
105			8.3	7.2	--	--	--	39,039
106			8.1	7.1	9.1	9.3	9.4	10,325,147
107			7.9	7.8	8.2	10.4	--	5,153,957
108			7.7	8.2	14.2	14.6	--	45,808,747
109			7.5	8	8.6	10.6	9.5	5,033,165
110			7.4	9	9	9.6	11.2	640,064
111			7.4	8.5	7.3	7.7	7.9	38,246,108
112			7.3	--	--	--	--	12,079,472
113			7	--	--	--	--	612,985
114			7	7.5	5.7	6.9	7.6	5,408,320
115			6.2	6.6	5	6.6	7.4	10,415,811
116			5.6	--	--	--	--	400,031
117			5.4	7.3	7.4	--	--	79,034
118			5.1	7.1	--	--	--	1,525,663
119			5	5.5	5	5.6	6.6	5,541,017
120			4.9	5.9	5.9	6.2	7.2	1,330,932
121			4.8	6.8	7	7.5	7.7	5,122,600
122			4.3	4.8	3.7	10.2	13.7	3,263,584
123			4.2	5.7	7.6	8	6.8	25,688,079
124			3.8	5.5	--	--	--	124,610
125	New Caledonia		3.5	3.8	3.7	--	--	271,030
126			3.4	6.1	7.2	5.5	5	372,520
127			3.3	5.1	--	--	--	26,221
128			3	--	--	--	--	63,867
129			2.9	4.5	3.7	3.5	--	105,870
130			2.5	--	--	--	--	304,032
131			1.3	--	--	--	--	170,534

External links

IQAir World Air Quality Ranking

Notes and References

Ritchie . Hannah . Roser . Max . 2013-11-16 . Indoor Air Pollution . Our World in Data.
Web site: The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) . 2023-03-08 . AQLI . en.
https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-countries
Web site: The Air Quality Life Index Linares (AQLI) . 2023-03-08 . AQLI . en.
Web site: World's Most Polluted Countries in 2022 - PM2.5 Ranking IQAir . 2023-06-29 . www.iqair.com . en.
.Web site: Most Polluted Countries 2023 . 2023-06-29 . worldpopulationreview.com.